Street watch

ABSTRACT

Apparatuses, techniques, and methods for a security and/or automation system are described. In some cases, methods may include receiving, from a first device at a first location, a request to access data associated with a time period from a second device at a second location, the data comprising at least one of audio data, visual data, or a combination thereof, receiving, from the first device, a category associated with the request, identifying a first set of data associated with the time period, the identified first set of data based at least in part on the request and the category, and automatically transmitting the first set of data to the first device based at least in part on the category.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/371,004, titled “STREET WATCH,” filed Dec. 6, 2016, which is acontinuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/160,979,titled “NETWORKED SECURITY CAMERAS AND AUTOMATION,” filed May 20, 2016,pending, the disclosures of each of which are incorporated herein in itsentirety by this reference.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure, for example, relates to security and/orautomation systems, and more particularly to networked security camerasand related automation.

Security and automation systems are widely deployed to provide varioustypes of communication and functional features such as monitoring,communication, notification, and/or others. These systems may be capableof supporting communication with a user through a communicationconnection or a system management action. Some automated systems may beprogrammed to enable security cameras to send data to or receive datafrom a device linked in a network.

SUMMARY

Multiple audio or video devices, such as security cameras may benetworked together to receive and transmit data related to the locationand/or the association of the devices. In some examples, the network ofdevices may be created and maintained based on a predetermined proximityof the devices or a device to a location, such as devices associatedwith a house or houses in a neighborhood. In other examples, the networkof devices may be based on each device's association with a group, suchas a community network, or a group of devices running the same softwareapplication.

The devices may obtain and receive data related to the presence ofpeople and/or objects or occurrence of events, obtain and receive datarelated to identifying the people, objects, and/or events, and make adetermination as to whether an action should be taken. The action may bean action related to user preferences at a home and the action may be asecurity action. In addition, one device in a networked group may sharethe data, request data, and request initiation of actions with and toother devices in the networked group.

A first device may transmit a request for data from a second device. Therequest for data may also include an inquiry related to presence ofpeople and/or objects or occurrence of events and a category associatedwith the request. The second device may obtain data related to thepresence of people and/or objects or occurrence of events, based on thecategory associated with the request, and make a determination as towhether an action should be taken. The action may be an action relatedto user preferences related to automated transmission of the obtaineddata and the action may be a security action. In addition, one device ina networked group may share the data, request additional data, andrequest initiation of actions with and to other devices in the networkedgroup.

Some examples relate to systems, methods, non-transitory computerreadable media and related devices for enhancing security and homeautomation system components and communications. In one example, thesystem and method may include receiving, from a first device at a firstlocation, a request to access data associated with a time period from asecond device at a second location, the data comprising at least one ofaudio data, visual data, or a combination thereof, receiving, from thefirst device, a category associated with the request, identifying afirst set of data associated with the time period, the identified firstset of data based at least in part on the request and the category,and/or automatically transmitting the first set of data to the firstdevice based at least in part on the category.

In some examples, the second device comprises a camera. The system andmethod may further include obtaining from a third device, the dataassociated with the time period at the second device, whereinidentifying the first set of data is based at least in part on the dataobtained from the third device. In some examples, the method may includeobtaining the data from a database associated with a pre-determinedgroup of devices.

In some examples, the system and method may include determining that thefirst device and the second device are part of the pre-determined groupof devices operating in a network, wherein transmitting the first set ofdata is based at least in part on the determination.

In some examples, the pre-determined group of devices comprise aplurality of cameras. In some examples, the system and method mayinclude defining the pre-determined group of devices based at least inpart on a geographic proximity of each of the pre-determined group ofdevices to the first location, or the second location, or both, whereinthe first location and the second location are in different physicalstructures.

In some examples, the system and method may include receiving, from thefirst device, an inquiry associated with an object, or a person, or bothand/or confirming an identity of the object, the person, or both basedat least in part on the first set of data and the inquiry.

In some examples, the system and method may include determining that thecategory satisfies a pre-determined threshold associated with the seconddevice. In some examples, the system and method may include receiving anotification indicating the category based at least in part on thedetermination.

In some examples, the pre-determined threshold is defined by a userassociated with the second device. In some examples, the automaticallytransmitting the first set of data to the first device is based at leastin part on the determination.

In some examples, the system and method may include transmitting aninstruction to adjust a first security action at the first locationbased at least in part on the first set of data and/or adjusting asecond security action at the second location based at least in part onthe first set of data.

In some examples, the system and method may include determining that afirst device at a first location and a second device at a secondlocation are part of a pre-determined group of devices operating in anetwork, creating, at the first device, a request to access dataassociated with a time period, the data being captured by the seconddevice, and the data comprising at least one of audio data, visual data,or a combination thereof, identifying a category associated with therequest, and/or transmitting the request and the category associatedwith the request to the second device.

In one example, the system and method may include obtaining data from afirst sensor at a first location, receiving identification data relatedto a person or an event at the first location, comparing the obtaineddata with the identification data, adjusting a first security action atthe first location based at least in part on comparing the received datawith the obtained data, and/or transmitting information to a secondsensor at a second location different from the first location based atleast in part on the determining, the second sensor being part of apredetermined group of devices.

The system and method may include detecting an event at the firstlocation based on the obtained data, the received identification data,or both, classifying the event at the first location based on thedetecting, and/or sending a request to a second device at the secondlocation based at least in part on the classification. In yet furtherexamples, the method may include determining an indication of occupancyat the first location and adjusting the first security action based onthe indication of occupancy.

In some examples, the system and method may include transmitting a firstrequest to a device at the second location to determine an indication ofoccupancy at the second location, and/or transmitting a second requestto adjust a second security action at the second location based at leastin part on the determined indication of occupancy at the secondlocation.

In some examples, adjusting may include sending a request to a device atthe second location to obtain data, sending a command to adjust a secondsecurity action at the second location based at least in part on thecomparing at the first location, and/or adjusting the first securityaction at the first location based at least in part on a user profileassociated with the first location.

In some examples, the system and method may include transmitting aninstruction to variably adjust a second security action at the secondlocation based at least in part on the adjustment of the first securityaction at the first location.

In some examples, the transmitted information may include transmittingan instruction to variably adjust a second security action at the secondlocation based at least in part on a user profile associated with thesecond location.

In some examples, the system and method may include receivingidentification data from a remote source, and determining an identity ofthe person based at least in part on the received identification datafrom the remote source and the comparing.

In some examples, receiving data may include receiving identificationdata from a database associated with the predetermined group. In someexamples, the method may include identifying the predetermined group ofdevices based on a user input.

In some examples, the system and method may include defining thepredetermined group of devices based at least in part on a geographicproximity of the first location to the second location, wherein thefirst location and the second location are in different physicalstructures.

In some examples, adjusting the first security action includesincreasing a frequency of obtaining audio data or visual data,activating an internal light, or an external light, or an internal audiosource, or an external audio source, or a lock, or some combinationthereof.

In some examples, the system and method may include sending an alert toa user device associated with the first location based at least in parton the received data, receiving an indication from the user based on thesent alert, and adjusting a security action at the first location basedat least in part on the received indication.

The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and technicaladvantages of examples according to this disclosure so that thefollowing detailed description may be better understood. Additionalfeatures and advantages will be described below. The concepts andspecific examples disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis formodifying or designing other structures for carrying out the samepurposes of the present disclosure. Such equivalent constructions do notdepart from the scope of the appended claims. Characteristics of theconcepts disclosed herein—including their organization and method ofoperation—together with associated advantages will be better understoodfrom the following description when considered in connection with theaccompanying figures. Each of the figures is provided for the purpose ofillustration and description only, and not as a definition of the limitsof the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A further understanding of the nature and advantages of the presentdisclosure may be realized by reference to the following drawings. Inthe appended figures, similar components or features may have the samereference label. Further, various components of the same type may bedistinguished by following a first reference label with a dash and asecond label that may distinguish among the similar components. However,features discussed for various components—including those having a dashand a second reference label—apply to other similar components. If onlythe first reference label is used in the specification, the descriptionis applicable to any one of the similar components having the same firstreference label irrespective of the second reference label.

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram relating to a security and/or an automationsystem, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure;

FIG. 2A shows a block diagram relating to a security and/or anautomation system, in accordance with various aspects of thisdisclosure;

FIG. 2B shows an exemplary user interface relating to a security and/oran automation system, in accordance with various aspects of thisdisclosure;

FIG. 2C shows an exemplary user interface relating to a security and/oran automation system, in accordance with various aspects of thisdisclosure;

FIG. 2D shows an exemplary user interface relating to a security and/oran automation system, in accordance with various aspects of thisdisclosure;

FIG. 2E shows an exemplary user interface relating to a security and/oran automation system, in accordance with various aspects of thisdisclosure;

FIG. 2F shows an exemplary user interface relating to a security and/oran automation system, in accordance with various aspects of thisdisclosure;

FIG. 2G shows an exemplary user interface relating to a security and/oran automation system, in accordance with various aspects of thisdisclosure;

FIG. 2H shows an exemplary user interface relating to a security and/oran automation system, in accordance with various aspects of thisdisclosure;

FIG. 2I shows an exemplary user interface relating to a security and/oran automation system, in accordance with various aspects of thisdisclosure;

FIG. 2J shows an exemplary user interface relating to a security and/oran automation system, in accordance with various aspects of thisdisclosure;

FIG. 3A shows a communication flow diagram between multiple devicesrelating to a security and/or an automation system, in accordance withvarious aspects of this disclosure;

FIG. 3B shows a communication flow diagram between multiple devicesrelating to a security and/or an automation system, in accordance withvarious aspects of this disclosure;

FIG. 4 shows a block diagram relating to a security and/or an automationsystem, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure;

FIG. 5 shows a block diagram relating to a security and/or an automationsystem, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure;

FIG. 6 shows a block diagram of an apparatus relating to a securityand/or an automation system, in accordance with various aspects of thisdisclosure;

FIG. 7 is a flow chart illustrating an example of a method relating to asecurity and/or an automation system, in accordance with various aspectsof this disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a flow chart illustrating an example of a method relating to asecurity and/or an automation system, in accordance with various aspectsof this disclosure;

FIG. 9 is a flow chart illustrating an example of a method relating to asecurity and/or an automation system, in accordance with various aspectsof this disclosure;

FIG. 10 is a flow chart illustrating an example of a method relating toa security and/or an automation system, in accordance with variousaspects of this disclosure; and

FIG. 11 is a flow chart illustrating an example of a method relating toa security and/or an automation system, in accordance with variousaspects of this disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The systems and methods described herein relate generally to receivingand transmitted identification and event data at an audio/video device,such as a security camera. In some examples, the identification andevent data may be transmitted in response to a received request. In someexamples, the identification and/or event data may be requested from afirst member of a community networking group by a second member of thecommunity networking group. In some examples, the device may bewirelessly networked with other devices within a predetermined distanceor at a predetermined location. In other examples, the devices may bewirelessly networked with other devices that have opted-into thecommunity networking group. In some examples, the members of thecommunity networking group may be customers of the same security andautomation solution provider. In some other examples, the members of thecommunity networking group may be customers of two or more differentsecurity and automation solution providers. Based on the data receivedand/or transmitted, the devices may send commands to other devices totake an action, send an alert, perform other operations.

In one embodiment, two or more security cameras may be associated withtwo or more locations, respectively. One camera at one location mayobtain and receive data related to identification of people, objects,and/or events occurring at or near the location. In some examples, thecamera may be configured to automatically take snapshots upon detectingevents at or near the location. Based on the relationship between thetwo or more cameras, the first camera may share information, requestinformation, take an action at the first location, and/or request orinitiate an action at the second location. In some examples, a userassociated with the first camera may review the data prior to sending itto a second camera. In some examples, the second camera at the secondlocation may be configured to request for audio/video data (i.e., datarelated to identification of people, objects, and/or events occurring ator near the location of the first camera) for a specified time period.While requesting, a user associated with the second camera may alsoindicate a category of urgency. The category of urgency may, in someexamples, be an indication of a level of urgency of the request.Information obtained may be analyzed to determine if a person, object,and/or event requires an alert and/or an action with regard to at leastone of the locations.

The following description provides examples and is not limiting of thescope, applicability, and/or examples set forth in the claims. Changesmay be made in the function and/or arrangement of elements discussedwithout departing from the scope of the disclosure. Various examples mayomit, substitute, and/or add various procedures and/or components asappropriate. For instance, the methods described may be performed in anorder different from that described, and/or various steps may be added,omitted, and/or combined. Also, features described with respect to someexamples may be combined in other examples.

FIG. 1 is an example of a communications system 100 in accordance withvarious aspects of the disclosure. In some examples, the communicationssystem 100 may include one or more sensor units 110, local computingdevices 115 and 120, network 125, server 155, control panel 135, andremote computing device 140, among other components. One or more sensorunits 110 may communicate via wired or wireless communication links 145with one or more of the local computing devices 115 and 120, or network125. The network 125 may communicate via wired or wireless communicationlinks 145 with the control panel 135 and the remote computing device 140via server 155. In alternate examples, the network 125 may be integratedwith any one of the local computing devices 115 and 120, server 155, orremote computing device 140, such that separate components are notrequired.

Local computing devices 115 and 120 and remote computing device 140 maybe custom computing entities configured to interact with sensor units110 via network 125, and in some examples, via server 155. In otherexamples, local computing devices 115 and 120 and remote computingdevice 140 may be general purpose computing entities such as a personalcomputing device, for example, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, anetbook, a tablet personal computer (PC), a control panel, an indicatorpanel, a multi-site dashboard, an iPod®, an iPad®, a smart phone, asmart watch, a fitness tracker, a mobile phone, a personal digitalassistant (PDA), and/or any other suitable device operable to send andreceive signals, store and retrieve data, and/or execute modules. Insome examples, local computing devices 115 and 120 and/or remotecomputing device 140 may comprise or be coupled to internal and/orexternal sensors which are enabled to sense and capture data similar toor in the same manner as sensor units 110.

Control panel 135 may be a smart home system panel, for example, aninteractive panel permanently or removably mounted on a wall in a user'shome. Control panel 135 may be in direct communication via wired orwireless communication links 145 with the one or more sensor units 110,or may receive sensor data from the one or more sensor units 110 vialocal computing devices 115 and 120 and network 125, or may receive datavia remote computing device 140, server 155, and network 125.

The local computing devices 115 and 120 may include memory, a processor,an output, a data input and a communication module. The processor may bea general purpose processor, a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), anApplication Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Digital SignalProcessor (DSP), and/or the like. The processor may be configured toretrieve data from and/or write data to the memory. The memory may be,for example, a random access memory (RAM), a memory buffer, a harddrive, a database, an erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM), anelectrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), a readonly memory (ROM), a flash memory, a hard disk, a floppy disk, cloudstorage, and/or so forth. In some examples, the local computing devices115 and 120 may include one or more hardware-based modules (e.g., DSP,FPGA, ASIC) and/or software-based modules (e.g., a module of computercode stored at the memory and executed at the processor, a set ofprocessor-readable instructions that may be stored at the memory andexecuted at the processor) associated with executing an application,such as, for example, receiving and displaying data from sensor units110.

The processor of the local computing devices 115 and 120 may be operableto control operation of the output of the local computing devices 115and 120. The output may be a television, a liquid crystal display (LCD)monitor, a cathode ray tube (CRT) monitor, speaker, tactile outputdevice, and/or the like. In some examples, the output may be an integralcomponent of the local computing devices 115 and 120. Similarly stated,the output may be directly coupled to the processor. For example, theoutput may be the integral display of a tablet and/or smart phone. Insome examples, an output module may include, for example, a HighDefinition Multimedia Interface™ (HDMI) connector, a Video GraphicsArray (VGA) connector, a Universal Serial Bus™ (USB) connector, a tip,ring, sleeve (TRS) connector, and/or any other suitable connectoroperable to couple the local computing devices 115 and 120 to theoutput.

The remote computing device 140 may be a computing entity operable toenable a remote user to monitor the output of the sensor units 110. Theremote computing device 140 may be functionally and/or structurallysimilar to the local computing devices 115 and 120 and may be operableto receive data streams from and/or send signals to at least one of thesensor units 110 via the network 125. The network 125 may be theInternet, an intranet, a personal area network, a local area network(LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a virtual network, atelecommunications network implemented as a wired network and/orwireless network, etc. The remote computing device 140 may receiveand/or send signals over the network 125 via wireless communicationlinks 145 and server 155.

In some examples, the one or more sensor units 110 may be sensorsconfigured to conduct periodic, continuous, conditional, or otherwiseongoing automatic measurements related to determining the presence of atleast one person in or at a location and/or determining data related toidentifying the person determined to be present in the location. Inother examples, the sensors may be configured to conduct periodic,continuous, conditional, or otherwise ongoing automatic measurementsrelated to determining the occurrence of an event or a condition withina predetermined distance of the location or at the location. Forexample, the sensors may determine if a car is speeding by on the streetin front of a home, if a person has entered into a house, if items arebeing removed from a house, etc. Sensor units 110 may include or relateto, but are not limited to: proximity, motion, temperatures, humidity,sound level, smoke, structural features (e.g., glass breaking, dooropening and/or closing, window opening and/or closing, window position,door position), time, geo-location data of a user and/or a device,distance, biometrics, weight, speed, direction, gait, height, size,preferences, light, darkness, weather, time, system performance, thestatus and/or the usage of an electronic device and/or a buildingfeature, and/or other inputs that relate to a security and/or anautomation system and/or an occupant of an area and/or a structure, suchas a home. Each sensor unit 110 may be capable of sensing one or moreenvironmental parameters, or alternatively, separate sensor units 110may monitor separate environmental parameters. For example, one sensorunit 110 may measure ambient light level, while another sensor unit 110(or, in some examples, the same sensor unit 110) may detect motion of anoccupant. Such detecting motion may in some examples occur in relativedarkness and/or involve wavelengths within and/or beyond thosedetectable by the human vision (e.g., near-infrared illumination,microwave radiation, ultrasonic waves, passive infrared radiation,tomographic motion). One sensor unit 110 example may be a camera. Insome examples, one or more sensor units 110 may additionally monitoralternate environmental parameters, such as the voice of an occupant.

Each sensor unit 110 may be capable of sensing multiple identificationand/or event identifying parameters, or different sensor units 110 maybe capable of sensing a specific identification and/or event parameter.For example, one sensor unit 110 may measure biometric data, whileanother sensor unit 110 (or, in some examples, the same sensor unit 110)may detect digital and/or electronic data, a physical characteristic ofthe person, or a location of a different person. In some examples, oneor more sensor units 110 may additionally capture a snapshot uponsensing a specific identification of an event parameter (e.g., detect amotion, facial recognition). In some examples, one or more sensor units110 may additionally monitor alternate environmental parameters, such asthe date, time, and/or weather. In alternate examples, a user may inputidentification data directly at the local computing devices 115 and/or120 or at remote computing device 140, such as an allowed and/orexpected user entering or exiting a building associated with thenetworked devices.

Data gathered by the one or more sensor units 110 may be received bylocal computing devices 115 and 120, which may be, in some examples, athermostat or other wall-mounted input/output smart home display. Inother examples, local computing devices 115 and 120 may be a personalcomputer or portable electronic device such as a smart phone, tablet,and/or smartwatch. The local computing devices 115 and 120 may processthe data received from the one or more sensor units 110 to obtainpresence data, identification data, and/or event data and to determinewhether to store and/or share (e.g., with other networked devices or athird-party source) the data, respond to a request from a user, alert auser, and/or take an action in response to obtaining the data orotherwise receiving data related to presence, identification, and/or anevent. In alternate examples, remote computing device 140 may processthe data received from the one or more sensor units 110, via network 125and server 155, to obtain presence, identification and/or event data.Data transmission may occur via, for example, frequencies appropriatefor a personal area network (such as BLUETOOTH® or IR communications) orlocal or wide area network frequencies such as, but not limited to,radio frequencies specified by the IEEE 802.15.4 standard.

In some examples, local computing devices 115 and 120 may communicatewith remote computing device 140 or control panel 135 via network 125and server 155. Examples of networks 125 include cloud networks, localarea networks (LAN), wide area networks (WAN), virtual private networks(VPN), wireless networks (using 802.11, for example), and/or cellularnetworks (using 3G and/or LTE, for example), etc. In someconfigurations, the network 125 may include the Internet. In someexamples, a user may access the functions of local computing devices 115and/or 120 from remote computing device 140. For example, in someexamples, remote computing device 140 may include a mobile applicationthat interfaces with one or more functions of local computing devices115 and/or 120. In some examples, remote computing device 140 may be apersonal computer (e.g., desktop and/or laptop), control panel, smartphone or smart watch, and/or tablet. In other examples, remote computingdevice 140 may be a computing device associated with a business, publicservice, and/or database such as a news source, law enforcement,hospitals, schools, traffic cameras, Amber Alerts, criminal databases,etc.

The server 155 may be configured to communicate with the sensor units110, the local computing devices 115 and 120, the remote computingdevice 140 and control panel 135. The server 155 may perform additionalprocessing on signals received from the sensor units 110 or localcomputing devices 115 and 120, or may simply forward the receivedinformation to the remote computing device 140 and control panel 135.

Server 155 may be a computing device operable to receive data streams(e.g., from sensor units 110 and/or local computing devices 115 and 120or remote computing device 140), store and/or process data, and/ortransmit data and/or data summaries (e.g., to remote computing device140). For example, server 155 may receive a transmission of or a streamof identification data from any of a number of sensor units 110. In someexamples, server 155 may “pull” the data, e.g., by querying the sensorunits 110, the local computing devices 115 and 120, and/or the controlpanel 135. In some examples, the data may be “pushed” from the sensorunits 110 and/or the local computing devices 115 and 120 to the server155. For example, the sensor units 110 and/or the local computingdevices 115 and 120 may be configured to transmit data as it isgenerated by or entered into that device. In some instances, the sensorunits 110 and/or the local computing devices 115 and 120 mayperiodically transmit data (e.g., as a block of data or as one or moredata points).

The server 155 may include a database (e.g., in memory) containingidentification data received from the sensor units 110 and/or the localcomputing devices 115 and 120. In some examples, the database may alsocontain a log of events related to the sensor units 110 (e.g., doorevents, window events). Additionally, as described in further detailherein, software (e.g., stored in memory) may be executed on a processorof the server 155. Such software (executed on the processor) may beoperable to cause the server 155 to monitor, process, summarize,present, and/or send a signal associated with resource usage data.

In one example, sensor units 110 may be associated with at least twonetworked locations; for example, sensor units 110 may be securitycameras located at a first house and a second house. The sensor units110 may, respectively, be in wireless communication with a control paneland local computing devices located at the first house and/or the secondhouse, where the control panels and computing devices of each house arein communication with each other. Remote computing device may be acomputing device associated with law enforcement, a news source, orother information source from which sensor units 110 and local computingdevices 115 and/or 120 may receive identification information. Based atleast in part on what data the sensor units 110 obtain at the houses andthe data received from other elements of the wireless communicationsystem, actions at least one of the locations may be adjusted orinitiated.

FIGS. 2A-2J show block diagrams relating to a security and/or anautomation system, in accordance with various aspects of thisdisclosure. In particular, FIG. 2A shows an example residentialneighborhood 200 having eight houses 210, 215, 220, 225, 230, 235, 240and 245. Although FIG. 2A shows an example residential neighborhood withhouses located within a geographic area of one another, it should beunderstood that neighborhood 200 may be a residential area, a commercialarea, a rural area, and/or a mixed use area. In addition, the houses210-245 may be any type of structures, and the structures need not belocated next to one another, but rather may be located in differentgeographic locations separated by any contemplated distance (e.g., samesub-division, same commercial block, same multi-unit building, differentsub-divisions, different commercial blocks, located on the same streetbut separated by one or miles). The systems and methods described hereinrelate to the example residential neighborhood 200, but the system andmethods are not limited to neighborhood 200.

In neighborhood 200, any of the eight houses 210-245 may be coupled toat least one audio/video device, such as a security and/or doorbellcamera in wireless communication with at least one audio/video devicelocated at another house; however, not all the devices may be inwireless communication with each other. Dotted line 205 shows a groupingof houses which are wirelessly networked to communicate with at leastone other house located within the dotted line 205 by way of at leastone audio/video device located at and/or associated with houses 215,220, 225, 230, 235, 240, and/or 245. In this example, the six housesthat are in networked wireless communication with each other are shownto be next to one another, however, the networked houses need not benext to each other. For example, houses 215, 220, 240, and 245 may bewirelessly networked in another example. In another example, any or someof the houses shown in within dotted line 205 may also be in wirelesscommunication with a house (e.g., based on a device associated withand/or located at a house communicating with a device associated with asecond house) that is not shown in FIG. 2.

Thus, in one example, the devices and/or houses may be part of a networkbased on proximity within a location; however, in other examples, thedevices may be part of a network based on a specific association. Forexample, a community network may include a neighborhood-based socialnetwork, a social group network, an opt-in network that is not proximitybased, an opt-in network that is proximity based, an automaticallyestablished network link based on location and proximity (e.g., portableelectronic device running an application enters a building enabled toperform the methods described herein). For example, houses 215, 220,225, 235, 240, and 245 may all be part of a homeowners' association,where houses 210 and 230 are not part of the same homeowners'association, even though houses 210 and 230 are located in the sameneighborhood. In some examples, the devices and/or houses may be membersof a street watch group. In some examples, the devices and/or houses mayeach be related to one or more street watch groups. The devices and/orhouses may be capable of choosing members of their personal street watchgroup based on user input, location of potential users, geographicproximity of one or more objects to one or more objects or locations,other information, or some combination.

Each of the devices associated with the location of each of the housesmay share any or all of the same capabilities as each other device. Forexample, a device associated with house 215 may be enabled to obtaindata from a first sensor at house 215. The sensor may be physicallyintegrated as part of the device and/or may be in wired and/or wirelesscommunication with the device. The data obtained by the sensor mayinclude: biometric and personal data such as fingerprints, retinalscans, facial scans, gait, height, weight, speed, cadence, hair color,hair length, presence of facial hair, tattoos, piercings, jewelry,clothing style, clothing color, voice recordings, personalidentification numbers, radio frequency data related to a radiofrequency identification (RFID) tag associated with a person,identification of an electronic device such as a smartphone, table, orwearable electronic device, and the like.

The sensor may also obtain data related to animals, vehicles,environment, and non-tangible items, such car types, delivery vehicles,company logos, identification card data, rain, wind, sounds related towalking, running, talking, screaming, laughing, wind, glass breaking,doors opening and closing, sirens, alarms, etc. which are determined tobe within a predetermined proximity of example house 215.

In addition, a first device may receive a request for sensor data for aspecific time period from one or more other devices. The first devicemay receive a category associated with the request. Based on thecategory, the first device may transmit data (e.g., sensor data) to thesecond device. In some cases, the first device may automaticallytransmit data based on the category, such as the category meeting orexceeding a threshold (which may be based on user input, a systemsetting, other information, or some combination).

Additionally, the device may also receive identification data related toa person or an event at or within a predetermined distance of examplehouse 215. For example, with respect to a person, the device mayassociate or compare the data obtained from the sensor with a pluralityof user profiles associated with house 215 or past data. In otherexamples, the user profiles may be associated with other houses in theneighborhood which are in networked communication with one another. Theuser profiles may be profiles of an allowed and/or expected users and/orguests at example house 215, or other networked houses. The userprofiles may be stored individually for each house and/or combined intoa database for some and/or all of the networked devices. Some profiles,sensor data, determinations, comparisons, or other information may beshared with some devices with user permission or based on userpreferences. For example, in the case of an emergency or a detectedevent, more profile data may be shared with more of the networkeddevices within the area indicated by dotted line 205. If the userinteracts with the system using a software application (such as on asmartphone or a control panel), the software application may query theuser on what, if any, information the user would like to share with therest of the networked users.

Other identification data related to a person may include data receivedfrom transmissions from other devices (e.g., 220, 225, 235, 240, and/or245). In other examples, other identification data related to a personmay be received from remote and/or third-party databases and/or reportsand/or broadcasts and/or publications. For example, identification datafrom a criminal database, missing child and/or persons database,newspaper articles, news broadcasts, radio broadcasts, televisionbroadcasts, digital streaming broadcasts, and the like.

With respect to an event, the device may associate the data obtainedfrom the sensor with predetermined, pre-stored, and/or computer learningalgorithmic determined elements related to one or more events. Forexample, the device may obtain information related to opening andclosing a door, window, gate, garage door, blinds; a vehicle ignitionstarting, turning off, speeding, idling, swerving, crashing; weatherdata such as rain, wind, snow, hail; glass breaking; talking, screaming,laughing, etc., located within a predetermined distance of example house215. Based on the data received, user input, changes in preferences,and/or communication from and between other devices, each device maylearn the association between obtained data and/or identification datawhich may not have been previously predetermined or preprogrammed intothe system.

The device may compare the data obtained with identification datareceived to determine if an event has occurred and/or if an identifiedor non-identified person is associated with the event. In some examples,the device may receive an inquiry related to an event and/or a person.The device may device compare the data obtained with inquiry received todetermine if an event has occurred and/or if a person is identified. Insome examples, the person and/or the event may be allowed and/orexpected, while in other examples, the person and/or the event may beunauthorized. In other examples, the person and/or event may not be ableto be determined and/or identified; however, through computer learningalgorithms and other input, over time, the device may be able toidentify people and/or events over time.

Based on the comparison, the device may initiate an adjustment of anaction related to the location and/or a user associated with thelocation. In some examples, the adjustment may be of a user preference(e.g., turn on the lights, turn on music, set the thermostat to aspecific temperature). In other examples, the adjustment may be to asecurity action. The adjustment may be automatic (i.e., pre-programmedby a security company, law enforcement, the manufacturer), may beuser-defined (i.e., based on user preference), and/or may be dynamicallyadjusted and learned over time based on computer learning algorithms. Inaddition, the device may send the obtained data, the identificationdata, the comparison data, data associated with the adjustment, etc., toat least one of the other devices in networked communication with thedevice at house 215.

Referring now to FIG. 2B, an exemplary user interface 201-b for a streetwatch is described. In some examples, the user interface may begenerated by the sensor linking module 415, among other components orelements. The user interface shows a map of an area proximate a user ofthe street watch application. This may be generated when a user signs upfor a street watch program. The dots represent neighbors of the user,who are members of the street watch. The user may sign up for a streetwatch, with his personal information (address, home phone number, socialsecurity number, mobile phone number). For example, a user may be new toa neighborhood and may be willing to be part of an existing street watchgroup. The neighborhood may have multiple street watch groups. The usermay provide his address at sign up, and the security and automationprovider may verify the address. Once the address is verified, the usermay choose to be a member of an existing street watch group or the usermay choose to create a new street watch group. When the user decides tocreate a street watch group, the user sends a request to his neighbors.For example, the request may be an introductory message and aninvitation to be a member of the user's street watch group. Therecipient of the message could either accept the invitation or rejectthe invitation. In some examples, the first dot 202 (and other similardots) may indicate a neighbor who has accepted the invitation and is amember of the user's personal street watch group. In some examples, thesecond dot 204 (and other similar dots) may indicate a neighbor who hasnot yet accepted the invitation or has been sent a request for aninvitation, and is not yet in the user's personal street watch group. Insome examples, the second dot 204 may also indicate a neighbor who hasrejected the user's invitation and is not in the user's street watchgroup. The user may select any member from the street watch to get moredetails, including various types of identifying information as shown incomponent 206. For example, in accordance with various aspects of thepresent disclosure, the user may have selected a member who is in theuser's street watch group. The user may also invite some externalcontacts (not present on the map) using one or more pieces ofidentifying information in field 208 (e.g., name, email phone).

Referring now to FIG. 2C, an exemplary user interface 201-c for a streetwatch is described. In some examples, the user interface may begenerated by the sensor linking module 415, among other components orelements. In some examples, the user interface describes a messagethread of a member of a street watch group. This may be generated when auser selects a particular user as described with reference to FIG. 2B,among other actions. The user may view details about a member 212 of thestreet watch group. The selected member may have a message 214 sent orposted among other members of the street watch group. Other members ofthe street watch group may choose to reply to the message 214. Forexample, one or more members may reply to message 214 in a messagethread 216. In some examples, the user may remove the selected user fromhis street watch group or flag that the posted message is not relevantusing one or more selections within menu 218. For example, if the userobserves that the selected member is posting too often or is acting in acertain way, then the user may either choose to remove the person fromhis street watch group or flag that the message is irrelevant. Inanother example, if the user observes that the selected member isrequesting personal information, the user may flag that the selectedmember may be a exhibiting suspicious behavior. This suspicious behaviormay be identified by comparing one user's behavior to another, analyzingthe types of information being requested by this user over time,analyzing the information being requested pertains to one or morelocations, object, or people, or some combination thereof.

Referring now to FIG. 2D, an exemplary user interface 201-d for a streetwatch is described. In some examples, the user interface may begenerated by the sensor linking module 415, among other components orelements. The user interface described in FIG. 2D describes a map of anarea related to a user of the street watch application. In someexamples, this may be generated when a user is composing a request toaccess data (e.g., audio data, video data, other data, a combination ofdifferent data types) from one or more users or user devices. The dotsand cameras represent users who are members of a street watch group. Thecamera icon 222 may indicate a neighbor who is a member of the user'sstreet watch group and has shared (or agreed to share upon approval)data related to one or more outdoor cameras (e.g., doorbell cameras,front porch cameras, backyard cameras). The black dot 224 may indicate aneighbor who is part of the user's street watch group but has not sharedtheir cameras (or do not have an outside camera available for sharing atthe present time). The shaded dot 226 may indicate a neighbor who is nota member in the user's street watch group. The user may select one ormore members each with one or more shared outdoor cameras for requestingdata.

Referring now to FIG. 2E, an exemplary user interface 201-e for a streetwatch is described. In some examples, the user interface may begenerated by the sensor linking module 415, among other components orelements. The user interface may be generated in response to user input(e.g., a user's indication to compose a message). The window 232 forcomposing a request may include the details 234 (e.g., name, status,verification) of the requester (user composing the message). Forexample, the user interface may also indicate if the user composing therequest, is a verified member of the street watch group. The window 232for composing a request may also allow the user to describe 235 anincident related to the request (or include an inquiry related to therequest), select a category 236 associated with the request, requestaccess 237 to doorbell cameras and request additional video footage 238using one or more commands associated with one or more elements orbuttons (whether physical or digital). For example, the user maydescribe 235 an incident related to the request. The incident can be aninquiry related to an object or person or event. The user composing therequest may additionally select a category associated with the request.

Referring now to FIG. 2F, an exemplary user interface 201-f for a streetwatch is described. In some examples, the user interface may begenerated by the sensor linking module 415, among other components orelements. The user interface may be generated in response to a user'sindication to compose a message. The window for composing a request mayinclude the name and details of the requester (user composing themessage), a description 242 of an incident related to the request, and acategory associated with the request. After the user composing therequest, provides a description of the request, the user may be promptedby the sensor linking module 415 to select a category. Upon receivinguser input for selecting a category, a list of categories 244 may bepresented to the user. The list of category may include one or morephrases 246 describing a general category of the request. For example,the phrases can be vandalism, theft or missing item, other crime, lostpet, missing child and emergency. Additionally, the user interface mayalso include a visual representation 248 of each category that may berelated to the request. The visual representation may include acolor-coded representation, a patterned representation, a numericalrepresentation, or any other visual representation that described alevel associated with the urgency of each category.

Referring now to FIG. 2G, an exemplary user interface 201-g for a streetwatch is described. In some examples, the user interface may begenerated by the sensor linking module 415, among other components orelements. The user interface may be generated in response to a user'sindication to compose a message. The window for composing a request mayinclude the name and details of the requester (user composing themessage), a description of an incident related to the request, and acategory associated with the request. After the user provides adescription of the request and selects a category associated with therequest, the user may be prompted to select a time range associated withthe request. For example, the user may request data (e.g., videofootage) from other members of the street watch group foo the selectedtime period. The user composing the request may select a start time 254and an end time 256 for the requested data. According to the example ofFIG. 2G, the user composing the request, may request video footagebetween 12:00 PM and 3:00 PM on May 17, 2016. After the time periodselection, the user may request via element 252.

Referring now to FIG. 2H, an exemplary user interface 201-h for a streetwatch is described. In some examples, the user interface may begenerated by the sensor linking module 415, among other components orelements. The user interface may be generated at a receiver's userequipment (e.g., control panel, smart phone, tablet computer, wearabledevice) in response to receiving a request to access one or more piecesof data. The user interface described in FIG. 2H includes a notification262 of the request message to the receiver. For example, thenotification of the request message may include the sender's name,contents of the message, category associated with the message, and avisual representation of the category. The user interface may alsoindicate if the sender of the request is a verified member of the streetwatch. The user interface of the receiver includes an option for thereceiver to view 264 the request or approve 266 the request. In someexamples, the receiver may pre-approve requests from one or more users(e.g., a particular trusted neighbor). In that case, the receiver orreceiving device may not be notified before sending the approval, whichmay be automatic. In some examples, the receiver may have pre-approvalfor categories satisfying or exceeding a threshold. For example, thereceiver settings may indicate approval to send requested data (e.g.,video footage) is not required from the receiver if the categoryassociated with the request satisfies a threshold. In some examples, thepre-approval for categories may be based on one or more phrases,keywords, descriptions, or other information describing a generalcategory of the request. For example, the phrases may include vandalism,theft or missing item, other crime, lost pet, missing child, help,injury, bleeding, blood, medical condition, and emergency. The receiverof the request may indicate approval to send the requested data (e.g.,video footage) if the phrase describing the request indicates that therequest is related to a missing child or an emergency. On the otherhand, if the request indicates that the request is related to any othercategory (e.g., vandalism), then the receiver or receiving device may benotified before sending the approval. In some examples, the pre-approvalfor categories may be based on visual representations associated withthe category of the request. For example, the visual representation mayinclude a color-coded representation, a patterned representation, anumerical representation, or any other representation (e.g., a visualrepresentation) that describes a level associated with the urgency ofeach category. The receiver of the request may indicate pre-approval forsending the requested data (e.g., video footage), if the visualrepresentation associated with the request indicates satisfies athreshold. For example, the receiver settings may indicate that therequested data (e.g., audio/video footage) may be automaticallytransmitted to the requestor, if the visual representation of thecategory of the request indicates that the request is related to anemergency.

Referring now to FIG. 2I, an exemplary user interface 201-i for a streetwatch is described. In some examples, the user interface may begenerated by the sensor linking module 415, among other components orelements. The user interface may be generated in response to a user'sindication to view a received request. The received request may be arequest to access audio/video data from the receiver's camera for aspecified time period. In some examples, the received request may be arequest to access audio/video data from the receiver's camera without aspecified time interval. The window for viewing a request may includethe name and details of the requester (user composing the message), adescription of an incident related to the request, a category associatedwith the request, and a visual identifier of the category, among otherinformation. The receiver of the request may choose to allow 274 thesender to view the camera footage or deny 276 the sender to view thecamera footage. Before transmitting the footage to the sender, thereceiver of the request may view 272 the relevant camera footage.

Referring now to FIG. 2J, an exemplary user interface 201-j for a streetwatch is described. In some examples, the user interface may begenerated by the sensor linking module 415, among other components orelements. The user interface may be generated in response to user input(e.g., a user's indication to view a camera footage) before sending thefootage to the requester. The camera footage may be associated with orbased on a received request. For example, a first member of a streetwatch group may compose a request to access camera footage from a secondmember of the street watch group. The recipient of the request may usethe user interface to view the camera footage (e.g., audio/videofootage) prior to transmitting the video to the requestor using one ormore displays 282. The user interface for viewing the camera footage mayalso include one or more elements 284 to allow the viewer to pause,play, rewind and/or replay the same video, and/or also allow to skip acurrent video footage and view a subsequent video footage.

The user interface for viewing the camera footage may also allow theviewer to take snapshots while viewing the data via one or more elements286 and, alternatively or additionally, provide a subset of therequested data in response to the request. For example, the viewer maytake a snapshot from the data 282 (e.g., video and/or audio data) andmay decide to send the snapshots to the requestor using one or moreelements 289. In some examples, the user interface for viewing thecamera footage may provide an indication that there may relevant footageoutside the requested time period (e.g., before/after the requested timeperiod). For example, the requestor may request for camera footagebetween 12:00 PM and 3:00 PM on May 17, 2016, as described withreference to FIG. 2G. The receiving device may determine that therequest is an inquiry relating to a missing child (e.g., the inquiry mayinclude that the child was 5 years of age, wearing a red sweater andblack jeans). The receiver device may use facial recognition, amongother techniques, to determine that the camera footage includes themissing child (i.e., description of the missing child in the inquirymatches the description of the child in the camera footage) at 11:00 AMon May 17, 2016 (i.e., prior to the requested time period).

In response to identifying information relevant to the inquiry in therequest, the receiver device may provide an indication to the user ofthe receiver device, which may in some cases state that there may berelevant footage outside the requested time period. In some cases, thereceiver device may seek approval from the user of the receiver device(via a device or otherwise) before transmitting the camera footage. Onthe other hand, in some examples, the receiver device may automaticallytransmit the relevant data to the requestor (based on pre-approvalsettings of the user). In some examples, the request may only include aninquiry related to a missing child and may not include the descriptionassociated with the missing child. The receiver device may query adatabase to determine a description of a child associated with therequestor (e.g., the database may include information about each familymember of the requestor). Upon receiving the description, the receiverdevice may compare the description with the camera footage to determineif the camera footage includes data about the missing child associatedwith the requestor.

In some examples, the receiver device may receive an inquiry and maytransmit the inquiry to other devices that may be in network of thereceiver device (e.g., same neighborhood watch group as the receiverdevice). For example, a second device in network of the receiver devicemay identify relevant footage (i.e., camera footage relevant to thereceived inquiry) and may transmit the footage to the receiver device.In some examples, the transmission of the camera footage (e.g.,audio/video footage) from the second device to the receiver device maybe based on user settings associated with the second device. Uponreceiving relevant footage from the second device, the receiver devicemay transmit the footage to the requestor. In some examples, thereceiver of the request may determine relevant portions of the data(e.g., video footage) and may only send a subset of those portions tothe requestor. The user interface for viewing the camera footage mayalso allow the viewer to view a summary or a high-level representationof the data. The summary or high level representation may indicateportions 288 including important information (for example, when thecamera detects human motion, identified color, identified object, otherinformation, or some combination). In one example, the receiver of therequest may also send the high level representation of the video to therequestor,

FIG. 3A shows a communication flow diagram between multiple devicesrelating to a security and/or an automation system, in accordance withvarious aspects of this disclosure. In the example of FIG. 3A, house 215and house 220 are located in the same neighborhood, and are locatedacross the street from one another. Both house 215 and house 220 areassociated with a networked group of devices that are in wirelesscommunication with one another (e.g., as shown by the example areawithin dotted line 205 described with reference to FIG. 2). House 215may be associated with a security camera, such as a doorbell camera, anexternal security camera, or other monitoring device 215-a. In someexamples, device 215-a may comprise internal sensors; however, in otherexamples, device 215-a may be communicatively and/or electricallycoupled to external sensors. Likewise, house 220 may be associated witha device 220-a. Devices 215-a and 220-a may be networked together inwireless communication—directly or indirectly. In addition, both oreither of device 215-a and/or device 220-a may communicate with a localand/or remote database 305.

In one example, example, device 215-a is an external camera located athouse 215. The device 215-a may have a wide field of view and is thuscapable of capturing a wide area in front of and to the side of house215, as well as across the streets and next door (e.g., the device 215-amay be configured to enable a 180+ degree view around the axis of thedevice lens). For example, in reference to FIG. 2A, device 215-a mayhave a full and/or partial view of at least some of the area in front ofhouse 210, 230, 235, 240, 220, as well as the streets that intersect inthe middle.

In addition, device 215-a is in communication with a control paneland/or database 305. Database 305 may be an example of a local databaseassociated with house 215; for example, stored in memory on a controlpanel or other local computing device (e.g., smartphone, desktop at thelocation, a remote server or account associated with house 215). Thislocal database may store information related to users associated withhouse 215 and each user's preferences. For example, there may be afather, mother, a daughter, a son, and a dog at house 215. The databasemay store identification information about each user, including the dog,as well as information about schedules, vehicles, preferences (e.g.,lighting, sound, security levels). In addition, the database may storeidentification information about frequency and/or allowed and/orexpected guests (e.g., extended family, friends, nanny, delivery people,neighbors). In another example, database 305 may be a databaseassociated with house 220, thus, device 215-a may also be incommunication with a database associated with house 220, where the house220 database stores similar information about the users associated withhouse 220. In addition, houses 215 and 220 may have a shared database ofsimilar information. In another example, database 305 may be a remotedatabase or a third-party database which stores and shares informationrelated to events and identification, such as a news source, lawenforcement, missing persons databases, criminal databases, emergencyalert systems, weather databases, and the like.

In one example, device 215-a obtains data from one or more sensorslocated at house 215 (block 310). In this example, the data obtainedincludes information indicating that the users of house 215 arescheduled to be out of the house based on their stored schedules (e.g.,schedule information, activity information), the dog out with the dogwalker (e.g., location information), a video of a woman approximately 5′11″ tall, dressed in black, and with blonde hair (e.g., physicalcharacteristics, identification information), the device has obtainedthe sound of glass breaking near the living room (e.g., interiorenvironment information), and a blue car drove by slowly five minutesbefore the sound of glass breaking (e.g., exterior environmentinformation).

At block 315, device 215-a receives identification information from atleast one of a plurality of sources. The sources may be a databaseassociated with house 215, a database associated with house 220, or aremote database 305. The device 215-a queries a local databaseassociated with device 215-a (i.e., associated with house 215) anddetermines that none of the allowed and/or expected users associatedwith house 215 are tall women with blonde hair. The device may alsorequest data (at block 315-b) from the database associated with house220-a, as well as a shared database, and determine that none of theallowed and/or expected and/or expected visitors are tall women withblonde hair. In addition, none of the associated databases indicate thatany of the associated users have a blue car. The device 215-a mayrequest data (at block 315-a) from a remote database 305. In someexamples, the remote database may automatically send out an alert and/ordata to all devices enabled to receive identification and/or event data.The remote database may provide the device 215-a with a news reportrelated to a series of burglaries that have occurred within 15 miles ofhouse 215. In addition, the police have published a picture anddescription of the suspect: a tall woman with blonde hair. Device 215-acompares the data obtained from the sensor in block 310 to theidentification data in block 315, and determine that the event occurringat house 215 is likely a burglary being committed by thesuspect-at-large.

Device 215-a may also determine whether anyone (allowed and/or expected)is home. Determining occupancy may be performed using sensors insideand/or outside of the home that detect the presence of and identify whois located at the house. Based on whether someone is home or not, and/orbased on a user preference or system settings, device 215-a may adjustan action (at block 330). If someone is determined to be home, theaction may be different than if no one is determined to be home; forexample, if someone is home, the device 215-a may only initiate a loudalarm to warn a user that someone unexpected or not allowed is in thehome, but may not lock the doors in case the user needs to get away fromthe intruder. If no one is home, the device 215-a may increase thesecurity settings, lock doors to hinder escape, alert the police, soundan alarm to scare the intruder, turn the sprinklers on to makeidentifying the intruder easier, etc.

In another example embodiment, house 215 may be occupied by a single manwho is suspicious of any amount of detected activity or unknownvisitors. The man has programmed his security systems and sensors todetermine that any person and/or any vehicle which comes within apredetermined distance of his house is of the highest threat. The man athouse 215 desires to be notified of every movement and every noise thatis detected by device 215-a. In addition, the man desires to be notifiedof all people coming and going at his nearby neighbors houses, and hewants to be notified of all cars driving by that do not explicitlybelong to someone in the neighborhood. The man's neighbors, however, donot want to receive every single alert and action transmitted fromdevice 215-a, lest they be inundated with alerts and security actionadjustment requests.

Thus, for example, the users at house 220 have set their system toreceive all alerts and requests from devices at houses 225, 235, 240 and245 as described in the previous example. With regard to alerts fromhouse 215, the users at house 220 have programmed their system to onlyreceive alerts and requests from house 215 if the device 220-a receivesthe alert and/or data and determines that the threat level, alert,and/or request satisfies a predetermined threshold. For example, device220-a may transmit an alert or take an action if the data and/or requestreceived from device 215-a is indicative of a crime, but device 220-amay disregard an alert received from device 215-a if device 220-adetermines the alert is related only to a person walking through theneighborhood that is unlikely to pose a threat. Alternatively, device220-a may transmit an alert or take an action if the data and/or requestreceived from device 215-a is indicative of security alert (e.g., asecurity status change, an arm or disarm event), but may not transmit analert or take action based only on sensor data alone. It should beunderstood that these are merely examples, and any security action maybe contemplated.

In some examples, the actions may include predetermined settings basedon the identification and/or the event. In other examples, the actionmay be programmed by or based on feedback or information relating to atleast one of the users at house 215 and/or agreed upon by the networkedgroup of users. For example, the networked group of users maycollectively, separately, or each individually set a series of “threatlevels,” where each determined event is assigned to trigger or initiatea threat level with corresponding actions. A low threat level maycorrespond to an allowed and/or expected guest arriving at the house oran expected delivery of a package, whereas a high threat level may beassociated with identifying a prowler, a security alarm state change, orsounds associated with a crime or dangerous situation (e.g., glassbreaking, tires squealing). In some cases, a threat level of a firsthome may be based on or the same as a threat level at a second home. Forexample, a group of devices within a predetermined proximity may elector be automatically configured so that if a first home enters a firstthreat level based on sensor data or a user-initiated action, at leastsome or all of the devices in the group may also enter the same threatlevel or an elevated threat level based at least in part on the threatlevel of the first home. This elevated threat level may triggerspecified actions based on specified inputs and may be essentially moresensitive than a lower threat level (i.e., requiring less unrecognizedor abnormal input to trigger an alert or an event as compared to a lowerthreat level).

In another example, the device 215-a may send an alert to a user thatsomething is happening at the house. The alert may include informationrelated to the data obtained from the sensor and/or the identificationdata. Thus the device 215-a may wait to take an action, or take aspecific action, based on the user's response to the alert. In themeantime, the device 215-a may increase the frequency of obtaining datain case more data is needed for a decision or for future reference.

In another example, the device 215-a may send an alert and/or data (atblock 355) to device 220-a to alert the users at house 220 that aburglary is occurring within a proximity (e.g., across the street, athouse 215-a). Based on this information, the device 220-a may obtainsensor data, may receive identification data, may adjust actions, and/ormay send alerts and data itself. In other examples, device 215-a maysend a request to device 220-a to determine if anyone is home at house220. Based on whether someone is home at house 220 or not, and based oncomparing the data (at block 320), device 215-a may send a request todevice 220-a to initiate a security action (at block 340), such asturning on a security camera at house 220 which has a view of house 215across the street.

In another example, device 215-a may obtain data from a sensor, such asdata relating to or showing cars passing by, people walking by, two carsassociated with the house leaving the garage, etc. Device 215-a may alsoreceive identification data related to people, vehicles, and carsassociated with the neighborhood and/or networked devices. At somepoint, device 215-a may receive an alert from device 220-a that thedaughter that lives in house 220 is not at home and she is expected tobe home. Device 220-a may have adjusted security actions at house 220,and has sent a request to device 215-a to adjust security actions, suchas increasing the frequency of capturing audio and video around thehouse, or querying other devices or databases for information related tothe missing daughter. In some examples, this may allow a user associatedwith device 220-a to have a better chance of locating the daughter basedon the additional querying and searching. In some examples, thedatabases or the information sources associated with device 215-a may beat least partially different from the databases or the informationsources associated with device 220-a. Thus, by requesting that device215-a initiate one or more actions, additional information can begathered, compared, and evaluated within a predetermined period of time(e.g., less than one minute).

However, earlier, device 215-a obtained data that indicated the daughterwas riding her bike down the street, and in fact, at the current time(or a past time), device 215-a is obtaining data indicating someonematching the daughter's description is located in the front yard ofhouse 230. Thus, device 215-a sends an alert to device 220-a that thedaughter is likely located at house 230, and thus does not adjust thesecurity actions at house 215 based on the received data.

FIG. 3B shows a communication flow diagram between multiple devicesrelating to a security and/or an automation system, in accordance withvarious aspects of this disclosure. In the example of FIG. 3B, house 215and house 220 are located in the same neighborhood. In some examples,house 215 and house 220 are across the street from each other. In someembodiments, both house 215 and house 220 are associated with anetworked group of devices that are in wireless communication with oneanother (e.g., as described with reference to FIG. 2). House 215 may beassociated with a security camera, such as a doorbell camera, anexternal security camera, or other monitoring device 215-b. In someexamples, device 215-b may comprise internal sensors; in other examples,device 215-b may additionally or alternatively be communicatively and/orelectrically coupled to external sensors. Likewise, house 220 may beassociated with a device 220-b. Device 215-b and device 220-b may benetworked together in wireless communication—directly or indirectly. Inaddition, both or either of device 215-b and/or device 220-b maycommunicate with a local and/or remote database 305-a, among otherdevices.

In some examples, device 215-b is an external camera located at house215. The device 215-b may have a wide field of view (e.g., the device215-b may be configured to enable a 180+ degree view around the axis ofthe device lens) and is thus capable of capturing a wide area in frontof and to the side of house 215, as well as across the streets and nextdoor. For example, in reference to FIG. 2B, device 215-b may have a fulland/or partial view of at least some of the area in front of house 210,230, 235, 240, 220, as well as the streets that intersect in the middle.In some examples, the device 215-b may be an external camera located atthe backyard of house 215. In one example, device 220-b is an externalcamera located at house 220. The device 220-b may have a full and/orpartial view of at least some of the area in front of house 210, 230,235, 240, 220, as well as the streets that intersect in the middle. Insome examples, the device 220-b may be an external camera located at thebackyard of house 220. In some examples, the device 220-b may be coupledto a user device 120. For example, a user may request a video footagefrom device 215-b using or through device 220-b. In some examples, otherdevices could request a video footage (e.g., control panel at requestorlocation, one or more smartphones associated with the requestor, desktopat a location of the requestor, desktop at a location remote from therequestor, laptop at a location of the requestor, laptop at a locationremote from the requestor tablet, etc.). In some examples, a user ofdevice 220-b may indicate a time period associated with the requestedvideo footage (i.e. the user may identify the time period in the requestand may request for the data (e.g., video footage) during that timeperiod),

In addition, in some embodiments, device 215-b is in communication witha control panel located at one or more structures and/or database 305-a.Database 305-a may be an example of a local database associated withhouse 215; for example, stored in memory on a control panel or otherlocal computing device (e.g., smartphone, desktop at the location, astand-alone storage device or hard drive, a remote server or accountassociated with house 215). This local database 305-a may be configuredto store information related to users associated with houses in aneighborhood (e.g., house 215 and house 220). For example, there may bea father, mother, a daughter, a son, and a dog associated with a house(e.g., house 215). The database 305-a may store identificationinformation about each user, including the dog, as well as informationabout schedules, vehicles, preferences (e.g., lighting, sound, securitylevels), among other information. In addition, the database 305-a maystore audio/video data from devices associated with the houses (device215-b and device 220-b). For example, the device 215-b, may beconfigured to capture audio/video data in response to detecting motionand store the captured audio/video data in database 305-b. In someexamples, a user associated with the device 215-b may configure thedevice 215-b to capture audio/video data based on one or more userpreferences. In some examples, the user associated with the device 215-bcould enter the preferences through a control panel at user location,one or more smartphones associated with the user, desktop at a locationof the user, desktop at a location remote from the user, laptop at alocation of the user, laptop at a location remote from the user tablet,etc.

In some examples, the device 215-b, may be configured to captureaudio/video data in response to receiving a request from device 220-b,and may store the request and the data in database 305-a. In someexamples, the device 220-b, may be configured to capture audio/videodata in response to receiving a request from device 215-b, and may storethe request and the data in database 305-a. In addition, the database305-a may store identification information about frequency and/orallowed and/or expected guests (e.g., extended family, friends, nanny,delivery people, neighbors). In some examples, the database may beconfigured to store identification data of neighbors of house 215 andhouse 220. In another example, database 305-a may be a databaseassociated with house 220, thus, device 215-b may also be incommunication with a database 305-a associated with house 220, where thehouse 220 database stores similar information about the users associatedwith house 220. In addition, houses 215 and 220 may have a shareddatabase of similar information. In another example, database 305-a maybe a remote database or a third-party database which stores and sharesinformation related to events and identification, such as a news source,law enforcement, missing persons databases, criminal databases,emergency alert systems, weather databases, and the like.

In one example, device 215-b obtains data from one or more sensorslocated at house 215 (block 355). In this example, the data obtained mayinclude information indicating that the users of house 215 are scheduledto be out of the house based on their stored schedules (e.g., scheduleinformation, activity information), the dog is not at the home and isout with the dog walker (e.g., location information), a video of a childapproximately 4′ 4″ tall, dressed in a red coat, and with brown hair andblue eyes (e.g., physical characteristics, identification information),and a child is riding a bike in the street in front of the house (e.g.,exterior environment information), some combination, or otherinformation. In some examples, device 220-b obtains data from one ormore sensors located at house 220 (not shown). In some examples, adevice 215-b may receive instructions to obtain sensor data from acontrol panel at a location of device 215-b,a control panel remote fromdevice 215-b, one or more smartphones associated with a user of device215-b, a desktop at a location of the user of device 215-b, desktop at alocation remote from device 215-b, a laptop, a tablet, etc. In someexamples, a device 220-b may receive instructions to obtain sensor datafrom a control panel at a location of device 220-b,a control panelremote from device 220-b, one or more smartphones associated with a userof device 220-b, a desktop at a location of the user of device 220-b,desktop at a location remote from device 220-b, a laptop, a tablet, etc.Although the present disclosure describes various examples, otherexamples and embodiments are contemplated and the present disclosure isnot limited by these examples.

At block 360, device 215-b receives request from at least one of aplurality of sources. The sources may include a database associated withhouse 215, a database associated with house 220, a remote database 305,some combination, or other sources. Although it is shown that device215-b receives the request, in some examples, device 220-b receives therequest from at least one of a plurality of sources, the plurality ofsources including a database associated with house 215, a databaseassociated with house 220, a remote database 305, some combination, orother sources. In some examples, the device 215-b receive the request ata control panel at a location of the device 215-b, one or moresmartphones associated with the user of the device 215-b, desktop at alocation of the device 215-b, desktop at a location remote from thedevice 215-b, a laptop, a tablet, etc. The device 215-b queries a localdatabase associated with device 215-b (i.e., associated with house 215)and determines whether a child approximately 4′ 4″ tall, dressed in ared coat, and with brown hair and blue eyes (or a subset of these orother characteristics or related features) was seen near the house. Thedevice may also request data (at block 315-b) from the databaseassociated with other houses, as well as a shared database, anddetermine whether any the cameras (or other devices, such as sensors) ofany of the other houses have spotted the child approximately 4′ 4″ tall,dressed in a red coat, and with brown hair and blue eyes. The device215-b may request data (at block 315-a) from a remote database 305. Insome examples, the remote database may automatically send out an alertand/or data to all devices enabled to receive identification and/orevent data. The remote database may provide the device 215-b withadditional information (e.g., news report) related to a series ofkidnapping that have occurred in the community or within a predetermineddistance of house 215.

At block 370, in some examples, device 215-b identifies or determinesrelevant data from the received data. The sources for the data receivedby device 215-b may include a database associated with house 215, adatabase associated with house 220, a remote database 305, a combinationthereof, or one or more other sources. Although it is shown that device215-b identifies or determines relevant data from the received data, insome examples, device 220-b may be configured to identify or determinerelevant data from the received data, upon receiving a request for datafrom device 215-b. In some examples, the device 215-b identifies ordetermines relevant data at a one or more cameras (or other devices suchas motion sensor, fire sensor, glass break sensor, earthquake sensor,etc.), at the control panel at a location of the device 215-b, one ormore smartphones associated with the user of the device 215-b, desktopat a location of the device 215-b, desktop at a location remote from thedevice 215-b, a laptop, a tablet, etc. In one example, the device 215-bqueries a local database associated with device 215-b (i.e., associatedwith house 215) and determines that a child approximately 4′ 4″ tall,dressed in a red coat, and with brown hair and blue eyes was seen near aparticular house in the neighborhood and may, in some cases, note a timewhen the child having at least some similar characteristics was capturedby the device 215-b. Device 215-b may also determine whether the childwas seen anywhere within a specified geographic area (e.g., based on thedevices included in the street watch group, within a radius or adistance of one or more locations (e.g., a location of device 215-b, alocation of the last location where the child was captured on camera ordetected, a location associated with the child such as his home), somecombination, or other information. If the child was spotted at multipleplaces at the same, a similar time, within a time period, etc., then itis likely that the recognition data is not relevant. In one example, thedevice 215-b queries a local database associated with other devices(i.e., devices associated with houses in the same neighborhood watchgroup as house 215) and determines that a child approximately 4′ 4″tall, dressed in a red coat, and with brown hair and blue eyes was seennear a particular house in the neighborhood. In some examples, theneighborhood watch group associated with house 215 may be different fromthe neighborhood watch group associated with house 220. The device 215-bmay be configured to query devices associated with both neighborhoodwatch groups.

At block 375, device 215-b determines a category associated with thereceived request. In some examples, the category may include vandalism,theft, lost pet, missing child, other crimes, and emergency, among otherexamples. In some examples, one or more categories may be conveyed by ormay include a visual representation of the category. For example, thecategory may be green for vandalism, blue for theft, yellow for othercrimes, pink for lost pet, red for missing child missing child, andorange for emergency. In one example, the device 215-b queries a localdatabase associated with device 215-b (i.e., associated with house 215)and determines a ranking associated with the categories. Device 215-bmay also determine whether the category included in the request isassociated with a visual representation. Although it is shown thatdevice 215-b determines a category associated with the received request,in some examples, device 220-b may be configured to determine a categoryassociated with the received request, upon receiving a request for datafrom device 215-b.

At block 380, the device 215-b may adjust an action. Although it isshown that device 220-b adjusts an action, in some examples, device220-b may be configured to adjust an action, upon receiving a requestfor data from device 215-b. In some examples, the device 215-b determinethe action at a control panel at a location of the device 215-b, one ormore smartphones associated with the user of the device 215-b, desktopat a location of the device 215-b, desktop at a location remote from thedevice 215-b, a laptop, a tablet, etc. If the device 215-b queries alocal database associated with device 215-b (i.e., associated with house215) and determines that the data associated with the device 215-bincludes camera footage of a child approximately 4′ 4″ tall, dressed ina red coat, and with brown hair and blue eyes, then the device 215-b maytransmit the relevant data to device 220-b (at block 385).

In an example, device 220-b may transmit the relevant data if the datareceived from device 215-b is identified as being indicative of a crime,but device 220-b may disregard an alert if the data from device 215-b isrelated only to a person walking through the neighborhood that is notidentified as a threat. For example, device 215-b may categorize data asindicative of a crime if the data (e.g., video footage) includes footagethat can be categorized as a threat. For example, the device 215-b maycategorize the data as a crime based on objects (e.g., gun, knife),clothing item (e.g., masks) or people (e.g., recognized as a criminal)identified in the footage. A person walking down the street with a maskon, or a person walking down the street holding a knife, may beclassified as data indicative of threat. In some examples, the device215-b may receive sounds related to tires screeching near house 220-bduring afternoon. The schedule preference for house 220-b may indicatethat no member is scheduled to be home at that time of the day. Device215-b may further capture video footage of people wearing masks comingout of the car and may conclude that these footages indicate a burglary.Alternatively, in some examples, device 220-b may transmit an alert ortake an action if the data and/or request received from device 215-b isidentified as being indicative of a security alert (e.g., a securitystatus change, an arm or disarm event), but may not transmit an alert ortake action if the data received from device 215-b is not related to orcorrelated to the request 365-b received from device 220-b. It should beunderstood that these are merely examples, and any security action maybe contemplated. In some examples, the device 215-b may send a requestto device 220-b to initiate a security action (at block 390), such asturning on a security camera at house 220 which has a view of house 215across the street.

In some examples, the actions may be based on predetermined usersettings. For example, the device 215-b may take an a security actionbased on the determined category. In some examples, the device 215-b mayreceive the user preferences from a user at a control panel at alocation of the device 215-b, one or more smartphones associated withthe user of the device 215-b, desktop at a location of the device 215-b,desktop at a location remote from the device 215-b, a laptop, a tablet,etc. In other examples, the action may be programmed by or based onfeedback or information relating to at least one of the users at house215, house 220 and/or agreed upon by the networked group of users.

In another example, the device 215-b may send an alert to a user thatindicates that the device 215-b has retrieved data relevant to thereceived request. The alert may include information related to the dataobtained from the sensor and/or the identification data. Thus the device215-b may wait to take an action, or take a specific action, based onthe user's response to the alert. In the meantime, the device 215-b mayincrease the frequency of obtaining data in case more data is needed fora decision or for future reference. For example, the device 215-b mayautomatically capture screenshots every motion is detected by device215-b, a sensor, or another device (or when a device receives data fromany other sensor at house 215). In some other examples, the device 215-bmay capture video footage from a camera upon detecting motion and maycontinue capturing the video for a threshold time period, after themotion has ceased to occur.

Additionally or alternatively, other devices could perform some or allof the functionalities described above with reference to FIG. 3B. Forexample, a control panel at requestor location, a control panel atlocation associated with the receiver of the request, one or moresmartphones associated with the requestor, one or more smartphonesassociated with the receiver, a desktop associated with the requestor, adesktop associated with the receiver, a laptop associated with therequestor, a laptop associated with the receiver, a tablet associatedwith the requestor, a tablet associated with the receiver, a smartwatchassociated with the requestor, a smartwatch associated with the receiveretc.

FIG. 4 shows a block diagram 400 of a device 405 for use in wirelesscommunication, in accordance with various examples. The device 405 maybe an example of one or more aspects of a control panel 105 describedwith reference to FIG. 1. It may also be an example of a sensor unit110, local computing device 115 or 120, remote computing device 140described with reference to FIG. 1. In the example where device 405 maybe a sensor unit 110, sensor unit 110 may be a camera enabled to capturevideo and/or audio, in addition to other data as described previously.In some examples, device 405 may be an example device located at one ofthe example houses described with reference to FIG. 2. The device 405may include a receiver 410, a sensor linking module 415, and/or atransmitter 420. The device 405 may also include a processor. Each ofthese components may be in communication with each other—directly and/orindirectly.

The components of device 405 may, individually or collectively, beimplemented using one or more application-specific integrated circuits(ASICs) adapted to perform some or all of the applicable functions inhardware. Alternatively, the functions may be performed by one or moreother processing units (or cores), on one or more integrated circuits.In other examples, other types of integrated circuits may be used (e.g.,Structured/Platform ASICs, Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), andother Semi-Custom ICs), which may be programmed in any manner known inthe art. The functions of each module may also be implemented—in wholeor in part—with instructions embodied in memory formatted to be executedby one or more general and/or application-specific processors.

The receiver 410 may receive information such as packets, user data,and/or control information associated with various information channels(e.g., control channels, data channels). The receiver 410 may beconfigured to receive data from sensor units 110, a local computingdevice 115 or 120, a remote computing device 140, a server 155, athird-party database, one or more components of communication system100, as well as data relating to a request from a user, time periodassociated with the received request, categories associated with thereceived request, the data related to user preferences related to thecategories of the request, the identification of a person and/or anevent, actions based on identification and/or user preferences, userprofiles, data relating to home conditions and/or building features,data relating to environmental and geographic parameters and events,some combination, and/or other data and/or information. In someexamples, information may be passed to the sensor linking module 415.

The sensor linking module 415 may be enabled to associate one devicewith at least one additional device in networked wireless communication.In one example, the devices may be linked based on a predeterminedproximity, such as within a predetermined distance, geofenced area,neighborhood, subdivision, city block, city, county, state, street,association, etc. In another example, the devices may be automaticallyand initially linked based on automatic linking, but may be able toopt-out. For example, all houses which are located within a homeowners'association may be automatically networked.

In another embodiment, the devices may be linked based on opting-in(e.g., street watch, houses having a specific type of security system).In another example, the devices may be linked based on an association,such as an interest group (e.g., a book club), a community group (e.g.,home owner association, school organization), or social network (e.g.,Facebook, Twitter). In another example, the devices may be linked basedon user input (e.g., the user may add one or more contacts to anexisting street watch group or the user may create a new street watchgroup with one or more contacts) In another example, the devices may belinked based on user selection of specific devices; for example, from alist of possible devices, a user may select which of the devices willreceive data from the device at house 215 and/or which device will senddata to the device at house 215. In other embodiments, the devices theuser selects may be different based on the current situation; forexample, in an emergency situation (e.g., determined to be an“emergency” based on an event classification), all of the houses whichare within a predetermined radius of house 215 may be selected toreceive data in response to a request. In some examples, the sensorlinking module 415 may receive a request at house 215 from house 220,and may be configured to identify a category associated with therequest. The sensor linking module 415 may be configured to classify therequest as “emergency” based on the category (e.g., if the request iscategorized as missing child then the request is classified asemergency). In some examples, the category may be color codeddifferently for different situations (e.g., green for vandalism, bluefor theft, yellow for other crimes, pink for lost pet, red for missingchild missing child and orange for emergency). The sensor linking module415 may be configured to receive input from a user regarding whichcategories to identify as emergency. In a non-emergency situation,however, only the house making the request, may be selected to receivedata; for example, the device at 215 may receive a request from thedevice at 220, for theft of a delivery item. In response to the request,the device at house 215 may recognize a delivery truck has dropped off apackage at 215 instead of 220, and the device at house 215 sends anotification to the networked devices associated with 220 which haveindicated house 215 mistakenly received the delivery item. In someexamples, the device at house 215 may receive a request from the deviceat 220 and may identify a category associated with the request. Forexample, the device at 220 may request for a lost puppy and the categoryassociated with it may be color coded to indicate that there is a lostpet. The device at house 220 may include description of the lost puppy.The device at house 215 may recognize that the lost puppy was seen nearthe front porch and may notify the user of house 215 with data relatedto the lost puppy (e.g., video footage of the puppy, snapshot of thepuppy).

The sensor linking module 415 may receive request from one or moresources and initiate a number of actions based on the request. In oneexample, sensor linking module 415 may receive a request from a securitycamera or doorbell camera from a first location or a device associatedwith the first location (e.g., example house 220). In some examples,sensor linking module 415 is associated with and/or located a secondlocation or a device associated with the second location (e.g., examplehouse 215) and receives the request from the first location or a deviceassociated with the first location. The request may include a request toaccess the cameras the second location (e.g., security camera or thedoorbell camera at house 215) for a custom time period.

For example, the user of the house 220 may input a time period and mayrequest data from the cameras at house 215 for the time period. In someexamples, a sensor linking module 415 at house 220 may request data at asensor linking module 415 from house 215. The request may be related toa missing child or a lost pet; for example, the request may include aninquiry about a missing child, description of the child, description ofthe clothes that the child was wearing when last seen, whether the childwas riding a bike or may be associated with an object, if the child hasany special physical or other features, etc. In another example, thesensor linking module 415 may receive data related to sounds and/ormovement and/or events occurring inside the house—either by way of acommunicatively linked sensor (e.g., another camera, a motion sensor, amicrophone), or by way of data transmitted from an associated device inthe house (e.g., smartphone, control panel) to the device 405. Thesensor linking module 415 may store the data (e.g., video footage of thelocation of detected motion). In some examples, after receiving therequest, the sensor linking module 415 may automatically detect themissing child from the stored data. In some examples, the sensor linkingmodule 415 may identify a category of the request and may determine oneor more user preferences associated with the category. For example, auser of house 215 may enter a conditional user preference to initiateone or more actions. As one example, a conditional user preference maybe or include to forward the stored video footage to the requestingdevice without the user's approval. In some cases, this conditionalpreference may be based on a category, a time period associated with therequest, information indicated in the request, a source of the request(e.g., a user, a location, an address, a device). For example, if thecategory associated with the request include a missing child or anemergency or is requested by a trusted person, the data may be forwardedautomatically (e.g., absent user approval). In this example, the houseslocated within the dotted line 205 from FIG. 2 may be part of a network,and may send and receive data to one another based on the descriptionsprovided in the present disclosure.

In some examples, the sensor linking module 415 may be configured torecognize or predict suspicious behavior of person in a neighborhood orrequesting information from others. For example, the sensor linkingmodule 415 may be configured to monitor information related to theperson requesting for audio/video data (e.g., frequency of request, timeand/or duration of footage requested, profile of the user making therequest, the details of the request including the identity orcharacteristics described in the request, other characteristics, somecombination). The sensor linking module 415 may determine that aparticular person is requesting video footage between 4:00 pm to 6:00 pmfor weekdays from a neighbor. The system may determine that therequester is identifying a schedule when the a home occupant arriveshome (or, alternatively or additionally, when one or more home occupantsleave home). In some cases, this may be based on correlating sensor datainside and/or outside the home, location data of one or more occupants,request data, other information, or some combination. The sensor linkingmodule 415 may determine that this pattern of request behavior isunusual or abnormal, and may block the user from making further requestsand/or notify one or more other users of this potentially abnormalbehavior. In some examples, the sensor linking module 415 may determinethat a particular person is new to the neighborhood and is requestingvideo footage from a neighbor. The system may identify a profileassociated with the requester and may determine that the requestor has acriminal background. In some cases, this may be based on receivingcriminal identity data from a public database (e.g., police database)and comparing the identity of the requestor with the received data. Thesensor linking module 415 may determine that the person requestingfootage from the neighbors, has a criminal background, and may block theperson from making further requests and/or notify one or more otherusers of this potential threat to the neighborhood. In some examples,the sensor linking module 415 may determine that a particular user isrequesting video footage from a neighbor, and the request includes aninquiry about a missing child. The system may identify that therequester does not have any child living in the house (e.g., fromdatabase 305/305-a). In some cases, this may be based on sensor datafrom the location of the requestor, location data of one or moreoccupants, request data, other information, or some combination. Thesensor linking module 415 may determine that this request is unusual orabnormal, and may notify one or more other users of this potentiallyabnormal request.

The sensor linking module 415 may receive data from a plurality ofsources and initiate any number of actions based on the data. In oneexample, sensor linking module 415 may receive data from a securitycamera or doorbell camera at example house 215 (e.g., sensor linkingmodule 415 is associated with and/or located at example house 215). Someor all of the house that are networked may transmit and/or receive datafrom sensors and computing devices associated with any, some, or all ofthe networked locations. The data may be related to sounds and/ormovement captured in front of the house; for example, people enteringand exiting the house, people walking by, animals walking by, carsdriving by, tree branches swaying the sound of wind and/or rain, thesound of a car colliding with another car, the sounds of shouting, etc.In another example, the sensor linking module 415 may receive datarelated to sounds and/or movement and/or events occurring inside thehouse—either by way of a communicatively linked sensor (e.g., anothercamera, a motion sensor, a microphone), or by way of data transmittedfrom an associated device in the house (e.g., smartphone, control panel)to the device 405. In some examples, the device 405 may be the controlpanel inside and receives data from a device outside of the house. Inanother example, sensor linking module 415 may receive data related toother devices associated in a networked and wireless communication withdevice 405. In this example, the houses located within the dotted line205 from FIG. 2 may be part of a network, and may send and receive datato one another based on the descriptions provided herein.

The sensor linking module 415 may analyze data relating to anidentification and/or an event and/or a user and/or other data, andperform operations relating to transmitted data to another networkeddevice and/or taking an action in response to the data. In someexamples, the sensor linking module 415 may perform operations and/oractions related to at least: receiving an inquiry from a device andidentifying an object and/or person from the inquiry; identifying aperson inside, outside, and/or proximate a location; identifying eventsinside, outside, and/or proximate a location; and/or identifying acategory of inquiry and transmitting the identification data to thedevice based at least in part on the category; and/or initiating anadjustment, adjustments, or a stream of adjustments of a securityfeature and/or other user preference based at least in part on thereceiving and analyzing.

In one example, device 405 may obtain data from a sensor located athouse 215. The sensor may detect video, still images, sound, motion,temperature, vibration, infrared, frequencies, and/or any combination.For example, sensor linking module 415 may determine that a person hasbroken the glass of the front living room window of house 215 based ondetermining the presence of a person, the sound of glass breaking, theproximity of the person and the sound, and/or other data which indicatesthe front living room window being broken. In another example, sensorlinking module 415 may determine that a person has broken the glass of awindow of house 235, which is located across the street from house 215.In another example, sensor linking module 415 may determine that thefront living room window of one of the houses has broken, but thepresence of a person has not been detected, and thus the breaking of theglass may be for another reason, such as a misthrown baseball or abranch blowing in the wind. In some embodiments, obtained and/orreceived data may be stored in memory for future reference. In otherembodiments, obtained and/or received data may trigger an adjustment orinitiation of an action. In other embodiments, the obtained data may bestored without transmitting. In some examples, the sensor linking module415 may also store a time stamp associated with the obtained data. Inother embodiments, transmitter 420 may send the data to another deviceand/or send a notification and/or an alert and/or a command to anotherdevice based on the obtained data.

Sensor linking module 415 may also receive or obtain identification datarelated to a person and/or an event at house 215. In some embodiments,the sensor linking module 415 may obtain the identification data relatedto a person and/or an event at house 215 after receiving a request fromhouse 220. In another example, sensor linking module 415 may receive orobtain identification data related to a person and/or an event atanother location. For example, a video camera may obtain a facial scanof the person who broke the window at house 220, but may also receive orobtain data from a local or remote database, such as a criminal databasecontaining news photos and/or mugshots. Sensor linking module 415 maythen compare the data received (both locally and from a remote source)to make a determination as to who and what has occurred. In thisexample, sensor linking module 415 may determine that a person matchinga recent news report about burglaries has been identified at the porchof house 215 and is identified as the person that broke the window ofhouse 220, thus sensor linking module 415 may determine a burglary isabout to occur.

Based on determining an identification of a person and/or an event,sensor linking module 415 may adjust a parameter associated with house215 or take an action. The adjustment may be pre-programmed (e.g., auser profile which establishes actions and reactions), or may be basedon artificial intelligence and learning based on previous events andactions both at the location and based on events and actions at othernetworked locations. In some examples, the actions may be based on acategory of the request. For example, a user may set up a preferencethat in response to a request, the sensor linking module 415 will beconfigured to send identification of the person and/or the event withoutuser approval, if the category associated with the request satisfies athreshold. Thus, in one example, an adjustment may be madeautomatically; however, in another example, the sensor linking module415 may send a notification to a user to ask what the request adjustmentshould be based on the data and the comparison.

In addition, receiving and transmitting data and/or with regard toinitiating an action at the associated location or at a networkedlocation, sensor linking module 415 may further determine which otherlinked devices are part of the network and/or whether each device wantsto, expects to, and/or is enabled to receive communications from device405. Sensor linking module 415 may thus transmit data to at least one ofthe other linked devices which are identified as being part of thenetwork.

In another example, such as when sensor linking module 415 detects thebreaking of glass, but not the presence of a person, sensor linkingmodule 415 may determine the event is not a burglary, but an accident,and thus the actions taken by sensor linking module 415 may be differentbased on determining a classification for the determined action. Inanother example, such as when sensor linking module 415 detects a personas described in an inquiry for a missing person, the sensor linkingmodule 415 may determine that the video footage may be helpful inidentifying the missing person and may transmit the inquiry to otherlinked devices, and thus the actions taken by sensor linking module 415may be different.

FIG. 5 shows a block diagram 500 of a device 405-a for use in wirelesscommunication, in accordance with various examples. The device 405-a maybe an example of one or more aspects of device 405 described withreference to FIG. 4. The device 405-a may also be an example of acontrol panel 105 described with reference to FIG. 1. It may also be anexample of a sensor unit 110, local computing device 115 or 120, remotecomputing device 140 described with reference to FIG. 1. The device405-a may include a receiver 410-a, a sensor linking module 415-a,and/or a transmitter 420-a, each of which may be an example of receiver410, sensor linking module 415, and/or transmitter 420 described withreference to FIG. 4. Sensor linking module 415-a may also include arequest module 520, an identification module 505, a security actionmodule 510, and/or an alert module 515. The device 405-a may alsoinclude a processor. Each of these components may be in communicationwith each other—directly and/or indirectly.

The components of device 405-a may, individually or collectively, beimplemented using one or more application-specific integrated circuits(ASICs) adapted to perform some or all of the applicable functions inhardware. Alternatively, the functions may be performed by one or moreother processing units (or cores), on one or more integrated circuits.In other examples, other types of integrated circuits may be used (e.g.,Structured/Platform ASICs, Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), andother Semi-Custom ICs), which may be programmed in any manner known inthe art. The functions of each module may also be implemented—in wholeor in part—with instructions embodied in memory formatted to be executedby one or more general and/or application-specific processors.

The receiver 410-a may receive information such as packets, user data,and/or control information associated with various information channels(e.g., control channels, data channels). The receiver 410-a may beconfigured to receive data from sensor units 110, a local computingdevice 115 or 120, a remote computing device 140, a server 155, athird-party database, one or more components of communication system100, as well as data relating to a request from a user, time periodassociated with the received request, categories associated with thereceived request, the data related to user preferences related to thecategories of the request, the identification of a person and/or anevent, actions based on identification and/or user preferences, userprofiles, data relating to home conditions and/or building features,data relating to environmental and geographic parameters and events,some combination, and/or other data and/or information. In someexamples, information may be passed to the sensor linking module 415-a.

Request module 520 may receive and/or compose a request associated witha time period. In some examples, the request module 520 at a firstlocation may receive a request from another request module 520 at asecond location. In some examples, the request may include an inquiryrelated to a person, an object, and/or an event. In some examples,request module 520 receives a request and identifies a categoryassociated with the request. In some examples, the category associatedwith the request may be a phrase describing the type of request, a colorcode classifying the request, or a number identifying the category ofthe request, or any other representation describing or indicating acategory of the request. For example, the category can includevandalism, theft, lost pet, missing child, other crimes, and emergency,and the visual representation of the category may be green forvandalism, blue for theft, yellow for other crimes, pink for lost pet,red for missing child and orange for emergency.

In addition, request module 520 may identify the requested time periodand/or determine data related to identifying a person, an animal, anobject and/or an event during the time period. In some example, requestmodule 520 may receive a request for access to one or more devices(e.g., sensors, cameras) at or within a particular location orstructure. In some examples, the request module 520 may identify thatthe requester is not a verified member of street watch group and maydiscard the request based at least in part on the identification.Alternatively, the request module 520 may identify that the requester isnot a verified member of street watch group and may send a notificationto one or more street watch members to facilitate the non-member joiningthe group through one or more actions.

In addition, the request module 520 may create a request associated witha time period. In some examples, the request module 520 at a secondlocation may compose a request. For example the request module 520 atthe second location may compose a request to access one or more securitydevices (e.g., cameras, sensors, and doorbell cameras) in communicationwith another request module 520 at a first location. In some examples,the request may include an inquiry related to a person, an object and/oran event. In some examples, request module 520 may query a user andreceive user input while composing one or more aspects of the request.In some examples, the request module 520 may automatically compose arequest based on an event. For example, one or more sensors of house 220may detect glass breaking and may identifies movement of figure runningtoward house 215. Based at least in part on the detected data and/orpotential identification of the figure, the request module 520associated with the house 220 may automatically compose a request toview the security cameras of house 215 and transmit the request to therequest module 520 associated with house 215. In some examples, requestmodule 520 may include permission to access the security cameras athouse 215 for a time period. In some cases, at least part of the timeperiod may be based on the detected sensor or other data (i.e., thestart of the time range may be based on the first detection of themovement of the figure and/or the glass breaking information).

Identification module 505 may receive and/or determine identification ofa person, an object and/or an event. In some examples, theidentification module 505 may receive and/or identify data associatedwith a time period received in a request. In some examples,identification module 505 obtains data within a predetermined proximityof the device. For example, the device can be a sensor device, anoutside camera, doorbell camera etc. Data may include pictures, video,audio, sub audio, vibrations, motion, wind, rain, snow, ice, colors,fabrics, fingerprints, retinal scans, voice capture, identificationnumbers, changes in temperature, quick response (QR) code data, barcodedata, radio frequency identification data (RFID), wireless deviceidentification data, etc. Using similar methods, the identificationmodule 505 may determine whether a person is located at or within thehouse. Using similar methods, the identification module 505 maydetermine a person described in the request and may determine whetherthe person was located at or near the house.

In addition, identification module 505 may receive and/or determine datarelated to identifying a person, an animal, an object and/or an event.In some examples, the identification data may be compared to the inquiryreceived and/or determined as described above in order to determine aspecific identification. Identification data may be stored in a deviceand/or in a database enabled to be accessed by the device, for example,a communal database shared by the networked devices. In other examples,identification data may be obtained and/or received from a remote sourceand/or a third-party database such as a news report, a flyer, a radiobroadcast, an all-points bulletin, a missing child database, a criminaldatabase, a database of user profiles associated with a networked groupof users, etc.

In addition, identification module 505 may retrieve data related to therequested time period and may compare the requested inquiry with theretrieved data. In some examples, the retrieve data may be compared tothe inquiry received and/or determined that the retrieved data does notinclude information related to the inquiry.

Security action module 510 may adjust security actions or otherautomation actions based on the received request and the identificationof people, events, objects, and/or animals. In some examples, thesecurity action module 510 may automatically transmit the identificationdata based at least in part on determining that the category associatedwith the request meets or exceeds a level of a user-defined threshold.In some examples, the security actions may be automatic and based onpreprogrammed preferences (preferences related to a user profile,preferences related to a neighborhood street watch group itself,preferences related to a group of user profiles, and/or defaultpreferences). In other examples, the security action may be based on anidentify of the requestor and pre-programmed or default preferences. Insome examples, the security action may be dynamic and/or based on userinput or other data (e.g., sensor data) in real time (e.g., audio/videofootage may be transmitted upon receiving approval from the user).

In another example adjustment of security actions, in examples involvinga lighting system, may be to the lighting system and any component(s)thereof. Other adjustments may include, for example, adjustments to atelevision or system of televisions, a music system, relatedly a hometheater system, a thermostat system, a humidifier system, and/or a watersystem, among others.

Other adjustments may be security actions and may include: lockingand/or unlocking doors and/or windows; turning on or turning offinternal and/or external lights; turning on, turning off, turning thevolume up, turning the volume down on audio and/or video broadcasts;deactivating or activating sensors which indicate a door and/or windowhas been opened or closed; deactivating or activating alarms and sirens;increasing the frequency audio and/or video is captured at a securitydevice; turning on or off electricity and/or circuit breakers and/orwater lines; sending an alert to a user, a remote user, a networkeddevice, law enforcement, a news source, an associated group, and thelike.

In some examples, the security action adjustment may be automatic andbased on preprogrammed preferences. In other examples, the securityaction adjustment may be based on determining whether or not a user islocated at the first and/or a second location. In some examples, thesecurity action adjustment may be dynamic and/or based on user input inreal time (e.g., within 5 minutes of a user receiving an alert). Inother examples, the security action adjustment may be based on who hasbeen identified as being located at a second location and/or based on anevent at a second location (e.g., a burglary down the street).

Alert module 515 may transmit identification and event data to a userassociated with the device at example house 215. In some examples, thealert may be sent to a control panel inside or outside of the house, aportable electronic device such as a smartphone, tablet, smartwatch, thealert may be broadcast through speakers inside or outside of the houseand/or on a television screen and/or monitor. In some examples, thealert may similarly transmitted and broadcast to at least one otherwireless networked device, such as the device located at house 245. Inother examples, the alert may be sent to law enforcement, a news source,a share group database, and the like.

In one example, the alert module 515 may send an approval alert to theuser associated with the device 215-b that a second device 220-b isrequesting access to the data associated with device 215-b. In someexamples, the alert module 515 may receive a category associated withthe received request and may send a notification to the user of device215-b indicating the category of the received request. The option toselect a security action adjustment associated with a category of areceived request may be based on preprogrammed security actionadjustment selections, or may be able to manually override automatic orscheduled security action adjustments. In some cases, the system mayperform an automatic security action adjustment if a user does notprovide input or a contrary instruction within a predetermined time(e.g., the system automatically sends audio/video data to the requestinguser if the system determines that the identified data at house 215includes requested data).

In one example, the alert module 515 may send an alert to the userassociated with the device that someone is determined to be present atthe house and whether the person is identified, and if so, who theperson is identified to be, and/or whether the person is allowed and/orexpected. In other examples, the device may send an alert that a personis determined to be present at the house but the person is notidentified. In other examples, the alert module 515 may send the user analert which indicates an event has or is occurring; for example, afamily member arriving home, a package being delivered, someone breakingin, a car accident in the front yard, a child napping, a pet runningaway, etc. Based on the alert, the user may be presented with options.The options may be to select a security action adjustment based onpreprogrammed security action adjustment selections, or may be able tomanually override automatic or scheduled security action adjustments. Insome cases, the system may perform an automatic security actionadjustment if a user does not provide input or a contrary instructionwithin a predetermined time (e.g., the system automatically arms thesystem and locks the doors if the user does not indicate otherwise).

In another example, the alert module 515 may alert other networkeddevices about the presence or non-presence of a person and/or theoccurrence or non-occurrence of an event. For example, the alert module515 may receive a request for a missing child, and upon receiving therequest, the alert module 515 may transmit a missing child alert toother networked devices. In one example, the alert sent to a networkeddevice may be informational and contain data obtained at the firstlocation. In one embodiment, the alert sent from the first location maybe to request the device at the second location to adjust a securityaction or take another action. For example, the alert module 515 mayreceive an indication of the sound of glass breaking at house 215, andthus transmit an alert to a device associated with house 220 regarding anotification of the glass break. The device associated with house 220may have a preprogrammed action to initiate and/or adjust at house 220based on data and alerts received from house 215.

In other examples, the alert module 515 may send a request to a deviceat a second location to determine occupancy at the second location. Insome examples, an identification module associated with a device at thesecond location may make the occupancy determination based on the alertreceived from the first device. In another example, the alert module 515may send a request to the device at the second location to adjust asecurity action at the second location. In some cases, the adjustment ofthe security action at the second location will be effectuated based onreceiving the alert. In other cases, however, the adjustment of thesecurity action may be based on a determination of occupancy at thesecond location and/or based on user preferences or input at the firstand/or second locations.

The transmitter 420-a may transmit the one or more signals received fromother components of the device 405-a. The transmitter 420-a may transmitdata relating to, for example, adjusting a home environment, includingdata relating to adjusting a device 130, including in some examples datarelating to adjusting a component of a lighting system. In someexamples, the transmitter 420-a may be collocated with the receiver410-a in a transceiver module.

FIG. 6 shows a system 600 for networked security cameras and relatedautomation, in accordance with various examples. System 600 may includea device 405-b, which may be an example of the control panel 105, localcomputing devices 115 and/or 120, remote computing device 140, and/orsensor unit 110 described with reference to FIG. The device 405-b mayalso be an example of one or more aspects of device 405 and/or 405-a ofFIGS. 4 and 5.

Device 405-b may also include components for bi-directional voice anddata communications including components for transmitting communicationsand components for receiving communications. For example, device 405-bmay communicate bi-directionally with one or more of local computingdevices 115-a, one or more sensor units 110-a, one or more of remotecomputing devices 140-a, and/or remote server 155-a. This bi-directionalcommunication may be direct (e.g., device 405-b communicating directlywith remote server 155-a) or indirect (e.g., device 405-b communicatingindirectly with remote computing device 140-a through remote server155-a).

Device 405-b may also include a processor 605, and memory 610 (includingsoftware/firmware code (SW) 615), an input/output controller module 620,a user interface 625, a transceiver 630, and one or more antennas 635each of which may communicate—directly or indirectly—with one another(e.g., via one or more buses 640). The transceiver 630 may communicatebi-directionally—via the one or more antennas 635, wired links, and/orwireless links—with one or more networks or remote devices as describedabove. For example, the transceiver 630 may communicate bi-directionallywith one or more of local computing devices 115-a, one or more sensorunits 110-a, one or more of remote computing devices 140-a, and/orremote server 155-a. The transceiver 630 may include a modem to modulatethe packets and provide the modulated packets to the one or moreantennas 635 for transmission, and to demodulate packets received fromthe one or more antenna 635. While a device (e.g., 405-b) may include asingle antenna 635, the device may also have multiple antennas 635capable of concurrently transmitting or receiving multiple wired and/orwireless transmissions. In some examples, one element of device 405-b(e.g., one or more antennas 635, transceiver 630) may provide a directconnection to a remote server 155-a via a direct network link to theInternet via a POP (point of presence). In some examples, one element ofdevice 405-b (e.g., one or more antennas 635, transceiver 630) mayprovide a connection using wireless techniques, including digitalcellular telephone connection, Cellular Digital Packet Data (CDPD)connection, digital satellite data connection, and/or anotherconnection.

The signals associated with system 600 may include wirelesscommunication signals such as radio frequency, electromagnetics, localarea network (LAN), wide area network (WAN), virtual private network(VPN), wireless network (using 802.11, for example), 345 MHz, Z-WAVE®,cellular network (using 3G and/or LTE, for example), and/or othersignals. The one or more antennas 635 and/or transceiver 630 may includeor be related to, but are not limited to, WWAN (GSM, CDMA, and WCDMA),WLAN (including BLUETOOTH® and Wi-Fi), WMAN (WiMAX), antennas for mobilecommunications, antennas for Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN)applications (including RFID and UWB). In some examples, each antenna635 may receive signals or information specific and/or exclusive toitself. In other examples, each antenna 635 may receive signals orinformation not specific or exclusive to itself.

In some examples, one or more sensor units 110 (e.g., motion, proximity,smoke, light, glass break, door, window, carbon monoxide, and/or anothersensor) may connect to some element of system 600 via a network usingone or more wired and/or wireless connections.

In some examples, the user interface 625 may include an audio device,such as an external speaker system, an external display device such as adisplay screen, and/or an input device (e.g., remote control deviceinterfaced with the user interface 625 directly and/or through I/Ocontroller 620).

One or more buses 640 may allow data communication between one or moreelements of device 405-b (e.g., processor 605, memory 610, I/Ocontroller 620, user interface 625).

The memory 610 may include random access memory (RAM), read only memory(ROM), flash RAM, and/or other types. The memory 610 may storecomputer-readable, computer-executable software/firmware code 615including instructions that, when executed, cause the processor 605 toperform various functions described in this disclosure (e.g., obtaindata at a sensor, receive identification data, compare data, adjustsecurity actions, transmit data). Alternatively, the software/firmwarecode 615 may not be directly executable by the processor 605 but maycause a computer (e.g., when compiled and executed) to perform functionsdescribed herein. Alternatively, the computer-readable,computer-executable software/firmware code 615 may not be directlyexecutable by the processor 605 but may be configured to cause acomputer (e.g., when compiled and executed) to perform functionsdescribed herein. The processor 605 may include an intelligent hardwaredevice, e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a microcontroller, anapplication-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc.

In some examples, the memory 610 can contain, among other things, theBasic Input-Output system (BIOS) which may control basic hardware and/orsoftware operation such as the interaction with peripheral components ordevices. For example, the sensor linking module 415 to implement thepresent systems and methods may be stored within the system memory 610.Applications resident with system 600 are generally stored on andaccessed via a non-transitory computer readable medium, such as a harddisk drive or other storage medium. Additionally, applications can be inthe form of electronic signals modulated in accordance with theapplication and data communication technology when accessed via anetwork interface (e.g., transceiver 630, one or more antennas 635).

Many other devices and/or subsystems may be connected to, or may beincluded as, one or more elements of system 600 (e.g., entertainmentsystem, computing device, remote cameras, wireless key fob, wall mounteduser interface device, cell radio module, battery, alarm siren, doorlock, lighting system, thermostat, home appliance monitor, utilityequipment monitor, and so on). In some examples, all of the elementsshown in FIG. 6 need not be present to practice the present systems andmethods. The devices and subsystems may be interconnected in differentways from that shown in FIG. 6. In some examples, an aspect of someoperation of a system, such as that shown in FIG. 6, may be readilyknown in the art and are not discussed in detail in this application.Code to implement the present disclosure may be stored in anon-transitory computer-readable medium such as one or more of systemmemory 610 or other memory. The operating system provided on I/Ocontroller module 620 may be iOS®, ANDROID®, MS-DOS®, MS-WINDOWS®,OS/2®, UNIX®, LINUX®, or another known operating system.

The transceiver 630 may include a modem configured to modulate thepackets and provide the modulated packets to the antennas 635 fortransmission and/or to demodulate packets received from the antennas635. While the control panel and/or device and/or sensor (e.g., 405-b)may include a single antenna 635, the control panel and/or device and/orsensor (e.g., 405-b) may have multiple antennas 635 capable ofconcurrently transmitting and/or receiving multiple wirelesstransmissions.

The device 405-b may include a sensor linking module 415, which mayperform the functions described above for the sensor linking module 415of devices 405 and 405-a of FIGS. 4 and 5, respectively. The device405-b may also include an event determination module 645. Eventdetermination module 645 may compare data received with elementspre-associated with a plurality of known events to determine whether anevent is occurring and classify what type of event is occurring (e.g.,user returning home, delivery of a package, car accident in the frontyard, burglary, fire, flood). In other examples, event determinationmodule 645 may extrapolate to determine what and when an event isoccurring based on data that is not pre-associated with an event. Forexample, the event determination module 645 may not have the event of a“burglary” stored, but may know about the sound of glass breaking andthe sound of heavier footsteps of a person exiting the house as opposedto entering the house. The event determination module 645 may thus usecomputer learning techniques and extrapolation, as well as consideringother external data, to determine that these data indicate a burglary.

Based on the determination of the event at one location, the device mayquery another device for additional data to make further determinations.For example, if the device determines the front living room glass hasbroken, the device may query the other networked devices for audioand/or video data within a predetermined time period, in order todetermine if the glass breaking is a burglary or an accident. Based on arequest received at the sensor linking module 415-b, the device mayquery another device for additional data to make one or more furtherdeterminations regarding the request. For example, if the devicereceives a request regarding a missing child, the device may identify achild riding a bike in front of house 215, and the device may queryanother device to confirm the identification and/or one or morecharacteristics of the child. In some cases, identifying, determining,or confirming one or more characteristics or related pieces ofinformation related to the child may serve to confirm the child'sidentity or may eliminate the child as the child of interest. Forexample, if the missing child has blond hair (which may be input viauser input or based on captured data using one or more sensors ordevices), but the child on the bike has black hair, then the child onthe bike may be identified as a child other than the missing child.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart illustrating an example of a method 700 fornetworked security cameras and related automation, in accordance withvarious aspects of the present disclosure. For example, the method 700is described below with reference to aspects of one or more of thedevices 405 described with reference to FIG. 4, and/or aspects of one ormore of the devices described with reference to FIG. 5, and/or aspectsof one or more of the sensor units 110 described with referenced toFIG. 1. In some examples, a process may execute one or more sets ofcodes to control the functional elements of device 405 and/or device405-a and/or sensor unit 110 to perform the functions described below.Additionally or alternatively, the processor may perform one or more ofthe functions described below using special-purpose hardware.

At block 705, the method 700 may include obtaining data from a firstsensor at a first location. For example, an image capture device, suchas a camera, may be positioned to capture pictures, audio, and videos ina location, and may detect motion occurring within a predetermineddistance from the image capture device. Presence may also be detectedthrough sound captured at a microphone or other sound capture device. Inother examples, presence may be determined by way of pressure detection(e.g., pressure sensitive floors), infrared detection, temperaturedifferences, vibration detection, etc. In one example, the detection ofmovement, sound, vibrations, etc. may be caused by a person or may becaused by a nearby moving vehicle. In other examples, the motion may becaused by factors such as animals or tree branches blowing in the wind.The operation(s) at block 705 may be performed using the sensor linkingmodule 415 and/or the identification module 505 described with referenceto FIGS. 4 and 5, respectively.

At block 710, the method 700 may include receiving identification datarelated to a person or an event at the first location. Identificationdata may be related to a person's physical characteristics and/oranatomy, to information a user knows, actions, interactions with devicesor areas or locations, environmental and temporal data, electronic dataand information received from devices associated with a user,situational data, and the like. Identification data may be retrievedfrom a local database, a user profile, and/or sensor data relating toone or more locations (e.g., home, street, car, location of mobiledevice). Identification data may also be retrieved from a third-partydatabase such as a news report, a flyer, a radio broadcast, anall-points bulletin, a missing child database, a criminal database, adatabase of user profiles associated with a networked group of users,etc. In addition identification data may not be related to a person, butan animal and/or a vehicle. Identification data may also be related toan event. For example, the sound of glass breaking, metal crunching,tires squealing, screaming, etc., may indicate a robbery, a crash, achild napping, an accident, or another determined event, etc. Theoperation(s) at block 710 may be performed using the sensor linkingmodule 415 and/or the identification module 505 and/or the eventdetermination module 645 described with reference to FIGS. 4, 5, and 6respectively.

At block 715, the method 700 may include comparing the obtained datawith the identification data. Based on the data obtained by the firstdevice, and the identification data received, the device may compare thedata to make a determination. For example, if it is detected that glassis breaking, but there is no person detected within a predetermineddistance of the glass at the time of the breaking (e.g., within a fivefoot radius), the device may determine the glass broke due to a branchhitting the glass or a baseball hitting the glass. On the other hand, ifthe sound of glass breaking is obtained, as well as the presence of aperson, and the person has characteristics which match a news reportrelated to specific person breaking into houses nearby or if the personis unknown or cannot be recognized, the device may determine this is anintruder breaking into this house. The operation(s) at block 715 may beperformed using the sensor linking module 415 and/or the identificationmodule 505 and/or the event determination module 645 described withreference to FIGS. 4, 5, and 6 respectively.

At block 720, the method 700 may include adjusting a first securityaction at the first location based at least on comparing the receiveddata with the obtained data. For example, the security at the ingressand egress points may increase (e.g., doors and/or windows lock,curtains close, lights and/or sounds activate, alarms activate, lawenforcement is notified, other networked users are notified, sprinklersare activated) or decrease (e.g., security system turned off, blindsraise, doors unlock). The operation(s) at block 720 may be performedusing the sensor linking module 415 and/or the security action module510 described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, respectively.

At block 725, the method 700 may include transmitting information to asecond sensor at a second location different from the first locationbased at least in part on the determining, the second sensor being partof a predetermined group of devices. There may be multiple devicesnetworked in wireless communication with one another, where the devicesare not located at the same location (e.g., not at the same house, butin the same neighborhood; not on the same floor, but in the samehigh-rise office building). Based on determining the identification of aperson or event, the first device may share data related to theidentification with another networked device. In other examples, thefirst device may share data with law enforcement, news sources, securitycompanies, delivery companies, etc. The operation(s) at block 725 may beperformed using the sensor linking module 415 and/or the security actionmodule 510 and/or the alert module 515 described with reference to FIGS.4 and 5, respectively.

Thus, the method 700 may provide for networked security cameras andrelated automation. It should be noted that the method 700 is just oneimplementation and that the operations of the method 700 may berearranged or otherwise modified such that other implementations arepossible.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart illustrating an example of a method 800 fornetworked security cameras and related automation, in accordance withvarious aspects of the present disclosure. For example, the method 800is described below with reference to aspects of one or more of thedevices 405 described with reference to FIG. 4, and/or aspects of one ormore of the devices described with reference to FIG. 5, and/or aspectsof one or more of the sensor units 110 described with referenced toFIG. 1. In some examples, a process may execute one or more sets ofcodes to control the functional elements of device 405 and/or device405-a and/or sensor unit 110 to perform the functions described below.Additionally or alternatively, the processor may perform one or more ofthe functions described below using special-purpose hardware.

At block 805, the method 800 may include determining an indication ofoccupancy at the first location. For example, determining an indicationof occupancy at the first location may include determining if an knownor recognized user has arrived at home by way of presence detection andidentification techniques. The techniques may include: detection bymotion sensor, a microphone detecting sound, sensors detectingvibrations, facial recognition, voice recognition, fingerprint scan,retinal scan, identification by way of wireless communications with aportable electronic device associated with a user, a digital input at aninput device (e.g., personal identification number), and the like.Similar techniques may be used to determine the presence of any person,even if the person is not considered an allowed and/or expected user.The operation(s) at block 805 may be performed using the sensor linkingmodule 415 and/or the identification module 505 and/or the eventdetermination module 645 described with reference to FIGS. 4, 5, and 6respectively.

At block 810, the method 800 may include adjusting the first securityaction based on the indication of occupancy. In some examples, aspreviously described, a security action may be determined and/oractivated and/or initiated based on the determination of an event oridentification (or non-identification) of a person and/or object. Forexample, the security at the ingress and egress points may increase(e.g., doors and/or windows lock, curtains close, lights and/or soundsactivate, alarms activate, law enforcement is notified, other networkedusers are notified, sprinklers are activated) regardless if an user ishome or not. In other examples, however, the security action may bebased on the fact a user was determined to be home or not or that astructure has been determined to be occupied or not. For example, in thecase that a user is determined to be home, the security action may be tonotify the user that someone suspicious is outside, or that a flaggedevent is happening outside (e.g., a stolen car is identified as drivingby). Because the user is home, the alert may be all that is desiredand/or sufficient. However, if the user is determined not to be home,the security actions may be different. Because the user is not presentto deal with the situation him or herself, the security actions may makethe house more secure. In other examples, the security actions mayactivate instruments in the home to make it appear as if a user is home,even if he or she is not. For example, turning on lights or music. Theoperation(s) at block 810 may be performed using the sensor linkingmodule 415 and/or the security action module 510 described withreference to FIGS. 4 and 5, respectively.

At block 815, the method 800 may transmitting a first request to adevice at the second location to determine an indication of occupancy atthe second location. As described previously, multiple devices may benetworked together in wireless communication (e.g., a neighborhood, agroup, a community network). In one example, a device may determine thata person identified from the news as stealing a car is located at house215. The device associated with house 215 may be programmed to warn auser at the house within a predetermined area or proximity, such as ahome down the street (e.g., house 225), and thus sends a communicationor an instruction to the device associated with house 225 to determinewhether anyone is home at house 225. The operation(s) at block 815 maybe performed using the sensor linking module 415 and/or the securityaction module 510 and/or the alert module 515 described with referenceto FIGS. 4 and 5, respectively.

At block 820, the method 800 may include transmitting a second requestto adjust a second security action at the second location based at leastin part on the determined indication of occupancy at the secondlocation. Based on determining whether a person is home or not at house225, the device associated with house 215 may send a request to thedevice at house 225 to adjust a security action at house 225. Thesecurity actions may be similar to those described previously. Theoperation(s) at block 820 may be performed using the sensor linkingmodule 415 and/or the security action module 510 and/or the alert module515 described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, respectively.

Thus, the method 800 may provide for networked security cameras andrelated automation. It should be noted that the method 800 is just oneimplementation and that the operations of the method 800 may berearranged or otherwise modified such that other implementations arepossible.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart illustrating an example of a method 900 relatedto a request for information, in accordance with various aspects of thepresent disclosure. For example, the method 900 is described below withreference to aspects of one or more of the devices 405 described withreference to FIG. 4, and/or aspects of one or more of the devicesdescribed with reference to FIG. 5, and/or aspects of one or more of thesensor units 110 described with referenced to FIG. 1. In some examples,a process may execute one or more sets of codes to control thefunctional elements of device 405 and/or device 405-a and/or sensor unit110 to perform the functions described below. Additionally oralternatively, the processor may perform one or more of the functionsdescribed below using special-purpose hardware.

At block 905, the method 900 may include receiving from a first deviceat a first location, a request to access data associated with a timeperiod from a second device at a second location, the data comprising atleast one of audio data, visual data, or a combination thereof. Forexample, receiving from a first device at a first location, a request toaccess data associated with a time period from a second device at asecond location may include receiving a request to access a camera at afirst location. A user at the second device (e.g., house 220) maycompose the request. In some examples, the request may be related tovandalism, theft, lost pet, missing child, emergency, etc. Theoperation(s) at block 905 may be performed using the sensor linkingmodule 415 and/or the request module 520 described with reference toFIGS. 4, 5, and 6 respectively.

At block 910, the method 900 may include receiving from the firstdevice, a category associated with the request. In some examples, thecategory may include a phrase describing the urgency of the request andmay also include a visual identifier. For example, the category mayinclude vandalism, theft, lost pet, missing child, other crimes, andemergency, and the visual representation of the category may be greenfor vandalism, blue for theft, yellow for other crimes, pink for lostpet, red for missing child missing child and orange for emergency. Theoperation(s) at block 910 may be performed using the sensor linkingmodule 415 described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5.

At block 915, the method 900 may include identifying a first set of dataassociated with the time period, the identified first set of data basedat least in part on the request and the category. The operation(s) atblock 915 may be performed using the sensor linking module 415 and/orthe identification module 505 and/or the alert module 515 described withreference to FIGS. 4 and 5, respectively.

At block 920, the method 900 may include automatically transmitting thefirst set of data to the first device based at least in part on thecategory. Based on determining whether the category satisfies apre-determined threshold, the first set of data may be automaticallytransmitted. The operation(s) at block 920 may be performed using thesensor linking module 415 and/or the described with reference to FIGS. 4and 5.

Thus, the method 900 may provide for networked security cameras andrelated automation. It should be noted that the method 900 is just oneimplementation and that the operations of the method 900 may berearranged or otherwise modified such that other implementations arepossible.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart illustrating an example of a method 1000 relatedto a request for information, in accordance with various aspects of thepresent disclosure. For example, the method 1000 is described below withreference to aspects of one or more of the devices 405 described withreference to FIG. 4, and/or aspects of one or more of the devicesdescribed with reference to FIG. 5, and/or aspects of one or more of thesensor units 110 described with referenced to FIG. 1. In some examples,a process may execute one or more sets of codes to control thefunctional elements of device 405 and/or device 405-a and/or sensor unit110 to perform the functions described below. Additionally oralternatively, the processor may perform one or more of the functionsdescribed below using special-purpose hardware.

At block 1005, the method 1000 may include receiving from a first deviceat a first location, a request to access data associated with a timeperiod from a second device at a second location, the data comprising atleast one of audio data, visual data, or a combination thereof. Forexample, the request may be a request to access camera footage duringthe time period at the second camera. The operation(s) at block 1005 maybe performed using the sensor linking module 415 and the request module520 described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5 respectively.

At block 1010, the method 1000 may include receiving from the firstdevice, an inquiry associated with an object, or a person, or both. Forexample, a user associated with the first device may include an inquiryrelated to an object or an event or a person, within the request. Theoperation(s) at block 1010 may be performed using the sensor linkingmodule 415 and/or the request module 520 described with reference toFIGS. 4 and 5, respectively.

At block 1015, the method 1000 may include receiving from the firstdevice, a category associated with the request. As described previously,the category may include a phrase describing the urgency of the requestand may also include a visual identifier. For example, the category mayinclude vandalism, theft, lost pet, missing child, other crimes, andemergency, and the visual representation of the category may be greenfor vandalism, blue for theft, yellow for other crimes, pink for lostpet, red for missing child missing child and orange for emergency. Theoperation(s) at block 1015 may be performed using the sensor linkingmodule 415 described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5.

At block 1020, the method 1000 may include obtaining from a thirddevice, the data associated with the time period at the second device.The operation(s) at block 1020 may be performed using the sensor linkingmodule 415 and/or the identification module 505 described with referenceto FIGS. 4 and 5, respectively.

At block 1025, the method 1000 may include identifying a first set ofdata associated with the time period, the identified first set of databased at least in part on the request, the category and the dataobtained from the third device. The operation(s) at block 1025 may beperformed using the sensor linking module 415 described with referenceto FIGS. 4, 5, and 6

At block 1030, the method 1000 may include confirming an identity of theobject, the person, or both based at least in part on the first set ofdata and the inquiry. The operation(s) at block 1030 may be performedusing the sensor linking module 415 described with reference to FIGS. 4,5, and 6.

At block 1035, the method 1000 may include transmitting the first set ofdata to the first device based at least in part on the category. Theoperation(s) at block 1035 may be performed using the sensor linkingmodule 415 described with reference to FIGS. 4, 5, and 6.

Thus, the method 1000 may provide for networked security cameras andrelated automation. It should be noted that the method 1000 is just oneimplementation and that the operations of the method 1000 may berearranged or otherwise modified such that other implementations arepossible.

FIG. 11 is a flow chart illustrating an example of a method 1100 relatedto a request for information, in accordance with various aspects of thepresent disclosure. For example, the method 1100 is described below withreference to aspects of one or more of the devices 405 described withreference to FIG. 4, and/or aspects of one or more of the devicesdescribed with reference to FIG. 5, and/or aspects of one or more of thesensor units 110 described with referenced to FIG. 1. In some examples,a process may execute one or more sets of codes to control thefunctional elements of device 405 and/or device 405-a and/or sensor unit110 to perform the functions described below. Additionally oralternatively, the processor may perform one or more of the functionsdescribed below using special-purpose hardware.

At block 1105, the method 1100 may include determining that a firstdevice at a first location and a second device at a second location arepart of a pre-determined group of devices operating in a network. Asdescribed previously, multiple devices may be networked together inwireless communication (e.g., a neighborhood, a group, a communitynetwork). For example, determining that a first device at a firstlocation and a second device at a second location are part of apre-determined group of devices may include determining that the firstdevice and the second device are members of the same street watch group.The operation(s) at block 1105 may be performed using the sensor linkingmodule 415 described with reference to FIGS. 4, 5, and 6.

At block 1110, the method 1100 may include creating at the first device,a request to access data associated with a time period, the data beingcaptured by the second device, and the data comprising at least one ofaudio data, visual data, or a combination thereof. In some examples, auser associated with the first device (house 220) may compose a requestto access data at the second device (house 215). The operation(s) atblock 1110 may be performed using the sensor linking module 415 and/orthe request module 520 described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5,respectively.

At block 1115, the method 1100 may include identifying a categoryassociated with the request. As described previously, the category mayinclude vandalism, theft, lost pet, missing child, other crimes, andemergency, and the visual representation of the category may be greenfor vandalism, blue for theft, yellow for other crimes, pink for lostpet, red for missing child missing child and orange for emergency. Theoperation(s) at block 1115 may be performed using the sensor linkingmodule 415 described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5.

At block 1120, the method 1100 may include transmitting the request andthe category associated with the request to the second device. Asdiscussed earlier, the request may be transmitted from a first member ofa street watch group to a second member of the street watch group. Theoperation(s) at block 1120 may be performed using the sensor linkingmodule 415 and/or the request module 520 described with reference toFIGS. 4 and 5, respectively.

Thus, the method 1100 may provide for networked security cameras andrelated automation. It should be noted that the method 1100 is just oneimplementation and that the operations of the method 1100 may berearranged or otherwise modified such that other implementations arepossible.

In some examples, aspects from two or more of the methods 700, 800, 900,1000, and 1100 may be combined and/or separated. It should be noted thatthe methods 700, 800, 900, 1000, and 1100 are just exampleimplementations, and that the operations of the methods 700, 800, 900,1000, and 1100 may be rearranged or otherwise modified such that otherimplementations are possible. In some examples, aspects from two or moreof the methods 700, 800, 900, 1000, and 1100 may be combined and/orseparated. It should be noted that the methods 700, 800, 900, 1000, and1100 are just example implementations, and that the operations of themethods 700, 800, 900, 1000, and 1100 may be rearranged or otherwisemodified such that other implementations are possible.

The detailed description set forth above in connection with the appendeddrawings describes examples and does not represent the only instancesthat may be implemented or that are within the scope of the claims. Theterms “example” and “exemplary,” when used in this description, mean“serving as an example, instance, or illustration,” and not “preferred”or “advantageous over other examples.” The detailed description includesspecific details for the purpose of providing an understanding of thedescribed techniques. These techniques, however, may be practicedwithout these specific details. In some instances, known structures andapparatuses are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuringthe concepts of the described examples.

Information and signals may be represented using any of a variety ofdifferent technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions,commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may bereferenced throughout the above description may be represented byvoltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles,optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

The various illustrative blocks and components described in connectionwith this disclosure may be implemented or performed with ageneral-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an ASIC, anFPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistorlogic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designedto perform the functions described herein. A general-purpose processormay be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may beany conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, and/or statemachine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination ofcomputing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor,multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunctionwith a DSP core, and/or any other such configuration.

The functions described herein may be implemented in hardware, softwareexecuted by a processor, firmware, or any combination thereof. Ifimplemented in software executed by a processor, the functions may bestored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on acomputer-readable medium. Other examples and implementations are withinthe scope and spirit of the disclosure and appended claims. For example,due to the nature of software, functions described above can beimplemented using software executed by a processor, hardware, firmware,hardwiring, or combinations of any of these. Features implementingfunctions may also be physically located at various positions, includingbeing distributed such that portions of functions are implemented atdifferent physical locations.

As used herein, including in the claims, the term “and/or,” when used ina list of two or more items, means that any one of the listed items canbe employed by itself, or any combination of two or more of the listeditems can be employed. For example, if a composition is described ascontaining components A, B, and/or C, the composition can contain Aalone; B alone; C alone; A and B in combination; A and C in combination;B and C in combination; or A, B, and C in combination. Also, as usedherein, including in the claims, “or” as used in a list of items (forexample, a list of items prefaced by a phrase such as “at least one of”or “one or more of”) indicates a disjunctive list such that, forexample, a list of “at least one of A, B, or C” means A or B or C or ABor AC or BC or ABC (i.e., A and B and C).

In addition, any disclosure of components contained within othercomponents or separate from other components should be consideredexemplary because multiple other architectures may potentially beimplemented to achieve the same functionality, including incorporatingall, most, and/or some elements as part of one or more unitarystructures and/or separate structures.

Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media andcommunication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of acomputer program from one place to another. A storage medium may be anyavailable medium that can be accessed by a general purpose or specialpurpose computer. By way of example, and not limitation,computer-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory,CD-ROM, DVD, or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage orother magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used tocarry or store desired program code means in the form of instructions ordata structures and that can be accessed by a general-purpose orspecial-purpose computer, or a general-purpose or special-purposeprocessor. Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readablemedium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website,server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable,twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologiessuch as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiberoptic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such asinfrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of medium.Disk and disc, as used herein, include compact disc (CD), laser disc,optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk and Blu-ray discwhere disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproducedata optically with lasers. Combinations of the above are also includedwithin the scope of computer-readable media.

The previous description of the disclosure is provided to enable aperson skilled in the art to make or use the disclosure. Variousmodifications to the disclosure will be readily apparent to thoseskilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may beapplied to other variations without departing from the scope of thedisclosure. Thus, the disclosure is not to be limited to the examplesand designs described herein but is to be accorded the broadest scopeconsistent with the principles and novel features disclosed.

This disclosure may specifically apply to security system applications.This disclosure may specifically apply to automation systemapplications. In some examples, the concepts, the technicaldescriptions, the features, the methods, the ideas, and/or thedescriptions may specifically apply to security and/or automation systemapplications. Distinct advantages of such systems for these specificapplications are apparent from this disclosure.

The process parameters, actions, and steps described and/or illustratedin this disclosure are given by way of example only and can be varied asdesired. For example, while the steps illustrated and/or described maybe shown or discussed in a particular order, these steps do notnecessarily need to be performed in the order illustrated or discussed.The various exemplary methods described and/or illustrated here may alsoomit one or more of the steps described or illustrated here or includeadditional steps in addition to those disclosed.

Furthermore, while various examples have been described and/orillustrated here in the context of fully functional computing systems,one or more of these exemplary examples may be distributed as a programproduct in a variety of forms, regardless of the particular type ofcomputer-readable media used to actually carry out the distribution. Theexamples disclosed herein may also be implemented using software modulesthat perform certain tasks. These software modules may include script,batch, or other executable files that may be stored on acomputer-readable storage medium or in a computing system. In someexamples, these software modules may permit and/or instruct a computingsystem to perform one or more of the exemplary examples disclosed here.

This description, for purposes of explanation, has been described withreference to specific examples. The illustrative discussions above,however, are not intended to be exhaustive or limit the present systemsand methods to the precise forms discussed. Many modifications andvariations are possible in view of the above teachings. The exampleswere chosen and described in order to explain the principles of thepresent systems and methods and their practical applications, to enableothers skilled in the art to utilize the present systems, apparatus, andmethods and various examples with various modifications as may be suitedto the particular use contemplated.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for security or automation systems,comprising: receiving, from a first device at a first location, arequest to access data associated with a time period at a second deviceat a second location, the data comprising at least one of audio data,visual data, or a combination thereof; receiving, from the first device,a category associated with the request; identifying a first set of datacaptured during the time period, wherein the first set of datacorresponds to the category and the request; adjusting a first securityaction at the second location based at least in part on comparing thefirst set of data with a second set of data from the first device at thefirst location; and transmitting the first set of data to the firstdevice based at least in part on the identifying and the adjusting. 2.The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining that the firstset of data corresponds to the category and the request; andtransmitting an instruction to adjust a second security action at thefirst location based at least in part on the determining.
 3. The methodof claim 1, further comprising: determining that the first set of datacorresponds to the category and the request, wherein adjusting the firstsecurity action at the second location is further based at least in parton the determining.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the second devicecomprises a camera.
 5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:obtaining from a third device, the data associated with the time periodat the second device, wherein identifying the first set of data is basedat least in part on the data obtained from the third device.
 6. Themethod of claim 5, wherein obtaining the data captured during the timeperiod comprises: obtaining the data from a database associated with apre-determined group of devices.
 7. The method of claim 6, furthercomprising: determining that the first device and the second device arepart of the pre-determined group of devices operating in a network,wherein transmitting the first set of data is based at least in part onthe determination.
 8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:defining the pre-determined group of devices based at least in part on ageographic proximity of each of the pre-determined group of devices tothe first location, or the second location, or both, wherein the firstlocation and the second location are in different physical structures.9. The method of claim 6, wherein the pre-determined group of devicescomprise a plurality of cameras.
 10. The method of claim 1, whereinidentifying the first set of data captured during the time periodcomprises: receiving, from the first device, an inquiry associated withan object, or a person, or both; and confirming an identity of theobject, the person, or both based at least in part on the first set ofdata and the inquiry.
 11. The method of claim 1, further comprises:determining that the category satisfies a pre-determined thresholdassociated with the second device.
 12. The method of claim 11, whereinreceiving the category associated with the request comprises: receivinga notification indicating the category based at least in part on thedetermination.
 13. The method of claim 11, wherein the pre-determinedthreshold is defined by a user associated with the second device. 14.The method of claim 11, wherein: transmitting the first set of data tothe first device is based at least in part on the determination.
 15. Amethod for security or automation systems, comprising: determining thata first device at a first location and a second device at a secondlocation are part of a pre-determined group of devices operating in anetwork; creating, at the first device, a request to access dataassociated with a time period, the data being captured by the seconddevice, and the data comprising at least one of audio data, visual data,or a combination thereof; identifying a category associated with therequest, wherein the data corresponds to the category and the request;transmitting the request and the category associated with the request tothe second device; and adjusting a first security action at the secondlocation based at least in part on comparing a first set of data fromthe second device with a second set of data at the first device at thefirst location.
 16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:determining that the data corresponds to the category and the request;and adjusting an action at the first location, the second location, orboth based at least in part on the transmitted request.
 17. The methodof claim 15, further comprising: transmitting an inquiry associated withan object, or a person, or both; receiving, in response to the inquiry,the first set of data from the second device; and confirming an identityof the object, the person, or both based at least in part on the firstset of data.
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein: transmitting therequest comprises transmitting the inquiry.
 19. An apparatus forremotely monitoring a plurality of distributed remote storage devices,comprising: a processor, a memory in electronic communication with theprocessor, and instructions stored in the memory, the instructions beingexecutable by the processor to: determine that a first device at a firstlocation and a second device at a second location are part of apre-determined group of devices operating in a network; create, at thefirst device, a request to access data associated with a time period,the data being captured by the second device, and the data comprising atleast one of audio data, visual data, or a combination thereof; identifya category associated with the request, wherein the data corresponds tothe category and the request; transmit the request and the categoryassociated with the request to the second device; and adjust a firstsecurity action at the second location based at least in part oncomparing a first set of data from the second device with a second setof data at the first device at the first location.
 20. The apparatus ofclaim 19, wherein the instructions are executable by the processor to:transmit an inquiry associated with an object, or a person, or both;receive, in response to the inquiry, the first set of data from thesecond device; and confirm an identity of the object, the person, orboth based at least in part on the first set of data.